Welcome to the New Family
by TheRev28
Summary: Saren is dead. Shepard is dead. But when she comes back, Ian and I will be waiting. Let's see the Omega 4 relay try to stop us...assuming we even make it that far. Sequel to Welcome to the Family. Rated T for language.
1. Life In Between

**A/N: Howdy do, folks! I'm baaaaack! I know this is earlier than I told you guys and gals at the end of WttF, but…well…I just couldn't help it. Over the months of writing WttF, it became part of my routine, and you'd be amazed at how bored I got without it. Even Task Force Hydra (which all of you should read) didn't totally satisfy my writing crave.**

**So yeah, this story is a sequel, so if you haven't read Welcome to the Family, please do so now. Go ahead, I'll wait. But seriously, if you want to read this, you really should read the first one. There's some rather important stuff in it. Chapter four is where it comes into its own.**

**I'm gonna try to keep to my ten day update schedule, but with summer coming up, I might be able to get chapters out quicker. Or maybe slower because of work. I'm still not sure. Either way, I'm pretty sure you readers are just happy to see me back :) And honestly, I'm happy to be back. I hope y'all like the shenanigans I have in store for you. **

**Disclaimer time! Mass Effect and its characters and plot are the property of Bioware and EA. Death and the Auditors are the property of Terry Pratchett. All else belongs to me unless stated otherwise.**

**Anywho, I suppose I should start this story where every good sequel starts: three months after the previous one ended. ****Enjoy!**

**Life In Between**

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Beep! Bee—

I groggily slap down on my alarm clock's snooze button, eyeing the offending piece of technology with some distaste. Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm getting up, you damn thing. Though I do close my eyes and just lie in my bed for a while. I may be awake, but that doesn't mean I have to get up yet. Eventually, I open my eyes again and look around the room I've been living in for the past few months. There's nothing really special about it: a square room with metal walls, a desk, extranet terminal, chair, and the bed I'm lying in. But hey, I'm really only in here to sleep, so it doesn't really matter. I'm usually out wandering the Citadel or hanging out with Ian and Garrus when they're not on shift.

Finally, I manage to drag myself out of bed and into the small bathroom that connects to my room. Even if it's tiny, I'm glad I have my own. Anything is better than the communal showers on the Normandy.

…

The Normandy. I think it shows just how far I've come in the past few months that I can think about it without feeling depressed. Granted, if I start brooding about it, nothing will stop the memories from washing over me, but I can at least give passing thought to it without getting sad.

Anywho, I step in the shower, hoping that the hot water will wake me up some. Once the soothing water starts washing over my body, my mind wanders back to the events since the Collector attack. After Death's little talk with Ian and I—which I still have a hard time believing—we were pretty much stuck in the escape pod. I finally remembered to turn on the distress beacon after an hour or so, but that didn't really hasten our rescue. We were sitting on Alchera for around a day before the Alliance found us.

We were eventually found by the SSV Perugia, and it took us back to the Citadel. The trip was a…quiet one. All of the ground team survived—and Jenny managed to save Joker—but some canon just doesn't change. Everyone took Jenny's death hard, but I think Joker took it the worst. I don't remember him saying more than two words while the Perugia brought us back. Ian and I even tried bantering with him, but he just kinda brushed us off. I know he'll be ok, but seeing him like that was awful.

About the only non-depressing thing about that trip was meeting Ken and Gabby. I didn't really talk to them that much, but on the few occasions that I went down to engineering, they were always very friendly and answered any questions I had. I wonder if they'll remember me in two years.

The weeks following our return to the Citadel also sucked. Everyone on the Normandy, especially the ground team, had to sit through hours of hearings about the Normandy's destruction. Again, Joker took the brunt of the attack. The Alliance admiralty grilled him on why he didn't evacuate sooner or why he couldn't save the ship, and none of Joker's answers seemed to satisfy them. In the end, the Alliance grounded him. Something changed in Joker after that. I haven't heard from him since, but according to Kaidan, he quit about a week later. The Alliance also decided that they didn't need my services anymore, so I'm no longer their "general contractor." Whatever, I wasn't planning on staying anyway.

And then came Jenny's funeral. Even though I know for a fact that she'll be back in two years, it was still a depressing event. Just like Ash, she was given a grave at Arlington, even without a body to actually bury. Unlike Ash's funeral, though, Jenny's was a major event. Half of the Alliance brass, seemingly the entire galactic media, and even the freaking Council were there. Speeches were restricted to crew of the Normandy, the Council, and Jenny's family. Her father and brother looked…well, I don't think I've ever seen such despair. They had just buried Jenny's mother a month or so earlier, and Jenny's death just came completely out of the blue. Knowing that she'd be back, I tried giving the two depressed men words of encouragement, but they sounded hollow even to me. In the end, I simply gave them my condolences and let them grieve alone.

After that, I came back to the Citadel. Ian was true to his word and let me stay with him and Garrus. For two months, I've been living here with them, and it's been pretty good. They went back to C-Sec, and I've been trying to find a decent job to no avail. I don't really need it for the money; I still have plenty in my account from the Alliance, but I want something to pass the time. I know damn well that I'm not gonna spend two years just sitting around. I also know that Garrus and Ian won't be around forever. Eventually they're gonna go off to Omega to become space Batman and space Robin. But that'll probably be a few months still. I've got time to think about the future.

I shake my head, deciding that I've been in here long enough. Shutting off the water, I grab a towel and start to dry myself off. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I step out of the shower and stand in front of the mirror.

God, is this really me? Is this the same kid that suddenly appeared on Eden Prime seven months ago? I rub a hand across my cheek, feeling the beard I've started to grow, and the reflection does the same. Yeah, this is me, all right. I look down at the six horizontal scars across my chest from Sovereign and think about all the shit I've been through since coming here. Those scars are just the most visible changes. When I first got here, the only thing I had ever killed was some wildlife. It only took a few days for me to kill my first man in the name of stopping Saren. I remember hesitating those first few times…but that went away. How long did it take for me to become desensitized?

I sigh, closing my eyes. I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. What's done is done, and it's not like I take enjoyment in killing someone. I'm still the same person…on the inside, at least. I only have to look in the mirror again to see that my time here has changed my appearance. Gone are the days of being a twig. I'm not jacked, mind you, but my muscles have been toned by combat and trips to the gym now that I'm not in combat anymore. And hey, I can't deny that the scars look badass. The beard also helps make me look older than my 19 years. I snort as I realize that I'll be 21 by the time Jenny comes back. We should share a drink when she does.

Well, no sense in standing here anymore. Besides, Ian, Garrus, and I were planning to see a movie today. I forget what it's called, but it sounded interesting. Something about the fall of Earth, I think. I step out of the bathroom and find a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to put on. Just like Ian, I prefer the styles we had back in the 2000's. All the men's styles now look kinda stupid, but I'm also glad that I'm not the only one wearing a "vintage" style. Now fully clothed, I exit my room to see Ian and Garrus already eating breakfast. They both look up when they hear my door open.

"There you are," Ian says in between bites of cereal. "I was about to come searching for you."

"Well, unless you wanted to see me fresh out of the shower, it's probably good you didn't," I say with a grin. "Besides, I don't think Garrus would appreciate you sneaking a peak at another man."

"I've told you before, mate. You're just not my type," he says, returning my grin. "Besides, I'm a one-turian kind of guy."

"You're damn right you are," Garrus says, covering Ian's hand with his own and giving him a warm smile. I stand off to the side, watching the two of them with a smile of my own.

"You two done yet?" I ask after a bit.

"Just get your food," Ian says, not looking away from Garrus. "We might be done when you sit down." I just chuckle and grab a bowl of cereal. I'm glad that Ian and Garrus have already worked out a system to keep the dextro and levo foods separate. Otherwise this could get a little tricky…or dangerous.

With cereal in hand, I take a seat across from Ian and Garrus and just start eating. They'll let me know when their little moment is done.

"Dylan. Our little moment is done." Well damn...he just read my mind.

"Cool. So you two ready to see that movie?"

"Yes," Ian says, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So fucking hyped."

"I've heard it has lots of hot turians," I say with a grin at Garrus.

"One turian kind of guy, remember?" He looks over and winks at Garrus. "Unless one of them is better looking than you."

"Ian, I'm hurt," Garrus says with mock seriousness. "But I guess I'm just lucky Pallin doesn't respond to your advances, aren't I?"

"He's just playing hard to get."

"Well unless he starts responding, you're all mine."

"As cute as this is, don't forget that someone else is at the table," I say.

"You've had two months of this," Ian says with a shrug. "And you've only started caring now?"

"Just don't want you two making out right in front of me." I realize my mistake as soon as I say it.

Ian looks over at Garrus with a wicked smile on his face. "That's not a bad idea."

"Let's save that for the movie," Garrus says, mandibles widening.

"Just make sure you aren't in-between us in the cinema then, Dylan," Ian says. "Unless you want your view spoiled."

"I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. Like you said, I've had two months of this."

"Hey, don't be ungrateful. Or we'll start making you pay rent."

"Not being ungrateful...just having a laugh at your expense. It's not like you don't do it to me, too."

"Yeah, but I help pay for the apartment."

"And for that, I am _eternally_ grateful," I say, giving yet another grin.

"Leave him alone, Ian," Garrus says, smiling back. "If you take the piss out of him now, you'll have nothing left to do it later."

"Good point," Ian says with a nod. "And I love it when you use my expressions."

"I can't believe he's corrupted you that much, Garrus," I say.

"Boyfriend, remember?" Ian says. "I'm allowed."

I sigh, shaking my head with a smile. "You've got me there. Now if you two are done laughing at me, we should probably get going. Don't want to miss this amazing movie."

"I don't even know how you afforded tickets for this," he says with a grin.

"You forget that the Alliance was paying me during my time on the Normandy."

"And you've been living off that for all this time? Why didn't I sign up?"

"Why are you asking me that? Not my fault you didn't think of that."

"Alright, you two," Garrus says, interrupting our wonderful banter. "If we want to get to the movie, we should get going." Ian and I share a look, silently agreeing that this one was a draw. There will be others.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ian asks, getting up from the table. "Let's get going."

Twenty minutes later, we're sitting in the movie theater, and half an hour after that, the movie actually starts. I honestly have no clue what this movie is about, but I've heard that it has an amazing soundtrack. Since the score even gets mentioned, it must be pretty freaking good.

The lights finally go down to their lowest levels, and the movie starts. Cue an amazing shot of Palaven floating in space with an occasional ship drifting through the scene. Suddenly, something enormous starts to eclipse the planet. The camera pans out to reveal a ship of epic proportions: easily over three kilometers long. The camera keeps panning out to reveal a few more, then a dozen more, then thousands. Minutes later, Palaven is burning. The entire time, music filled with such oppressive foreboding plays through the speakers. It's honestly quite chilling.

Three hours later, the final scene fades away, replaced by the title of the movie: _The Last Days of the Earth_. Everyone just stays in their seats, not moving. I think we're all trying to process what we just watched. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I was expecting nice effects, some decent action, and a good score. Well it had all of that except for a good score. It had a _great_ score. I don't know how they did it, but every single song managed to pull on whatever emotion you were feeling during a scene. It also got surprisingly deep at points, dipping into ponderings about the nature of death and the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

As the credits start to roll, people still haven't left their seats. Personally, I don't care about the actors. They were alright and would probably be up for some awards. No, I want to know who wrote that amazing score. Finally, the names of the composers scroll across the screen: Mangdalar, Yelena, and Art. Well you three, you have a new fan.

* * *

Well, skipping ahead about a month, I'm still living with Ian and Garrus. They haven't run off to Omega yet, but I can tell C-Sec is starting to get on their nerves. They're on shift right now, and I'm out wandering the wards because I don't feel like sitting in the apartment alone. About all I do in there is watch the news, and that's been pissing me off lately.

In the past few weeks, the Council has started pulling the bullshit moves you hear about in ME2. At first, they started downplaying the significance of Sovereign's attack, writing it off as an isolated incident. They didn't deny the existence of the Reapers, but they claimed that Sovereign was the last of its kind. That alone is enough to piss me off, and I know it's just gonna get worse.

So yeah, I don't really like watching the news anymore, meaning that I spend as much time out of the apartment as I can. At the moment, I'm walking through one of the numerous parks in the Presidium, just enjoying the view. As I'm walking by a small café, something catches my eye. Is…is that Kaidan? I stop and take a closer look. He's facing away from me, meaning that I can only see the back of his head, but that hair…Unless Elvis is still alive, that has to be Kaidan. Next to him is an attractive woman with shoulder length brown hair. If I had to guess, this is Kassandra.

I haven't talked to Kaidan in…three months or so. I should go say hi. As I get closer, I start to hear snippets of their conversation.

"I'm glad we could do this," Kaidan says, and I can practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Me too," Kassandra says, reaching over to take hold of Kaidan's hand. Her voice is higher than I thought it would be, making her seem younger than her appearance suggests. "Thanks for bringing me here. It's beautiful."

"It really is. Good sanity check." He leans back in his chair, looking completely at ease. That elicits a small chuckle from Kassandra.

"We definitely need to do this more often." For some reason, that makes Kaidan rub the back of his neck. Looks like he's nervous about something…

"That's actually something..."

"Hey, Kaidan!" I say, finally reaching them. He really did seem nervous, so I figured I'd give him a distraction. "I didn't expect to see you around here."

"Hey kid!" he says, looking over his shoulder at me. Then he looks back at Kass. "Have you met Kassy?" Now that I'm closer, I can get a better look at the woman in question. Lemme just say…Kaidan's a lucky man. Her tan skin and dark hair highlight a pair of piercing blue eyes.

"I can't say I've had the pleasure," I say, extending a hand towards her. "Dylan Owens."

She shakes my hand while giving me a warm smile. "Nice to meet you. Kaidan's told me about you." Huh, really? Probably just mentioned me along with the rest of the squad.

"And your name came up in our conversations on the Normandy."

"Is that so?" she asks, raising a teasing eyebrow at Kaidan. He grins back at her with a small blush.

"So what brings you to this area of the Presidium?" he asks me, apparently wanting to move on with the conversation. I'll let him off the hook…for now.

"Oh, nothing special. Just needed to get out of the apartment," I say. Then I give him a small grin. "I don't have to guess what brought you out here." That earns a chuckle from him.

"Oh you know, cool omni mods, new tech displays..." He looks over at Kass. "And a pretty nice view." Aww, how cute. Kass reaches over lightly punches Kaidan's arm, shaking her head. I can see the smile she has, though.

"Only _pretty nice_?" Oh snap… I grin to myself, eager to see how Kaidan gets out of that one.

"Uhh... what I meant was..." He trails off. Aw, come on, Kaidan. I was expecting at least something. Well…seeing as I kinda put him in this mess, I should help get him out.

"He meant to say that all the trees were spoiling the perfection," I say, giving Kass a smile.

"Exactly," Kaidan says, nodding as if that was what he was actually gonna say. Of course, that doesn't fool her, so she laughs.

"Good save," she says, looking at me with a big grin. "I like you already...kid." Why am I not surprised she picked up on Kaidan's nickname for me? Oh well. She seems like a nice person, so I'll let her call me that.

"One does one's best," I say, giving a playful bow.

"Care to join us?" Kass asks.

"I don't want to intrude on anything."

"You wouldn't be intruding," Kaidan assures me. "Come on, sit down and have some coffee." He gestures to a nearby waiter.

"Fine, fine," I say, giving them a smile as I sit down. "But I'm fine without coffee." I wave the waiter away. For some reason, Kaidan smells his cup.

"Yeah, this stuff just isn't the same," he says after a moment.

"Better than the coffee on the ship, at least?" Kassy asks.

"Definitely. Alliance standard coffee is crap."

"Probably a good thing I'm not a coffee person, then," I say.

"Grew up in Vancouver, surrounded by the good stuff," Kaidan explains. Huh, I didn't know he was from Vancouver. Learn something new every day. "I never stood a chance." Kassy laughs at that. Then she looks over at me.

"So Dylan...what's your story? How'd you end up on the Normandy?" Geez, I'm surprised she would ask that. Good thing I have my story firmly established.

"Do you want the boring truthful version, or the made-up one that makes me look better?" I ask, giving her a sly grin. I figure I can have some fun with this no matter what she says. Kaidan just rolls his eyes.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure getting onto a ship like the Normandy is anything _but_ boring. Let's start with the truth, and if I don't like it, you can make something up." Haha, good answer. I can really have some fun with this.

"Alrighty then," I say, preparing to delve into my story that everyone else knows as "the truth". "I lived on Eden Prime. I was out hunting the day that the geth attacked, meaning I was already armed, thank god. I managed to wander through the wilderness and got lucky enough to meet up with Kaidan and Jenny while also saving Ash. After that, I stuck around, and they decided to keep me."

Kaidan nods, offering confirmation to my story. "That sounds about right... except you asked to come along," he says, smirking as he finishes. I grin back at him.

"Hey, those geth scared the shit out of me. I wanted to be safe. What better place than with the illustrious Kaidan Alenko?"

"Biotics do come in handy."

Kassy looks over at Kaidan, giving a sly look. One corner of her mouth quirks up in a small smile. "Yes, they do," she says in kind of a sultry voice. I'm suddenly feeling less comfortable. I probably didn't need to hear that. Luckily, that only last a moment before she looks back at me. "Okay, now I'm curious. How can you possibly come up with something better than that?"

"I was brought here by the anthropomorphic personification of Death to stop the evil plans of cosmic bureaucrats." I manage to say that in a completely level tone and totally straight faced. Kassy narrows her eyes at me and seems to study my face for a few seconds. Suddenly, she bursts out laughing, and I know my ploy worked. Even if they thought it was a joke, it felt good to say that to someone besides Ian or Garrus.

"That's certainly imaginative," Kaidan says, giving me a smile. Oh if only you knew. But I've got to keep up appearances, so I smile back.

"I've always been a creative fellow."

"That's a great story," Kassy says, still laughing lightly. "Ever thought of becoming a writer? You really _do_ have the imagination for it." Me? A writer? I mean, I guess I've written a few poems, but I've never written any thirty-seven chapter epic sci-fi story.

"I do write from time to time. Nothing special, though. Just some poems and short stories."

"Poems, huh?" Kassy asks, arching an eyebrow. Kaidan also gives me a smirk.

"So is this how you've been spending your time, kid?" he asks, giving Kassy a wink. I just smirk back at him, deciding to play along.

"Quite so, Kaidan," I say, trying to sound fancy. "All I've done here on the Citadel is create verses about the infinite beauty of flowers and shit. Seriously, though, no. I've been living with Ian and Garrus for the past few months."

"How are they doing? Haven't talked to them much since... well, since the funeral." The funeral. That was the last time I saw a lot of the crew, and I'm sure that holds true for the others.

"They're doing fine. C-Sec is starting to piss them off a bit, but they're still going strong. How 'bout you? What have you been up to since then?"

"Actually…" He rubs the back of his neck just like he did when I walked up. I wonder what's got him so nervous. "I just got my new post earlier today. Good thing you showed up, saves me from having to say it twice. I leave for Horizon in a week. Details are classified, unfortunately. But it looks like I'll be stationed there for quite a while." Horizon. Damn… That's one part of ME2 that I'm really not looking forward to. I've grown to think of Kaidan as an older brother, but if push comes to shove, I know who I'm siding with. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

"Wait, what? You leave in a week?" Kassy asks, sounding shocked at the news.

"Yeah, I just found out this morning," Kaidan says, obviously not happy that this is the case. "Go where the brass tells you, right?" Kass obviously doesn't like the news very much. She casts her eyes down to the table, but I catch a crestfallen look before she does so.

"But it seems like we only just got reunited."

"I know, Kass," he says, sounding crushed that he has to break this news to her. "And it sucks, it really does. But I'll be able to talk with you every day. If you still want to. I'll understand if you don't." He looks down at the table. I can only imagine how much it took for him to say that.

In an instant, Kassy looks up from the table and grabs Kaidan's hands. "Of course I still want to. I..." She lets out a small sigh. "...I understand that you have to go. I just wish it wasn't so soon."

A look of intense relief crosses Kaidan's face. "That makes me so happy," he says, cupping her hand with both of his. "And I'll get one week paid leave every 6 months." Ok, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm intruding. I can tell they want to spend as much time as possible together, and who am I to interfere with that time? I start to get up from the table.

"Well if you've only got a week left, I would feel bad taking up any more of your time," I say, giving them both a warm smile. "Have fun, you two. And stay safe, Kaidan."

Kaidan also gets up and extends a hand towards me. "You too, kid," he says returning my smile. "Good to see you again."

Kassy also stands up and gives me a smile. "It was nice meeting you!"

I give Kaidan's hand a shake then look over to Kassy. "It was a pleasure meeting you, as well. I wish you both all the happiness you can handle." With a final smile and wave, I walk away, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

* * *

It's been about six months after Jenny's death, meaning I've been in this universe for around ten months. In the two months since running into Kaidan and meeting his girlfriend, not much has happened. About the only major event was me getting a job. My account was finally starting to run out, so I needed some kind of income to support me. Believe it or not, I actually got a job at "Miller & McCarthy's". So I work there as a technician: making sure all the weapons and armor are in top condition. So I'm there from 9-5 every weekday, making enough money to keep up with my expenses. I also finally met the other half of the store's name: Barrett Miller. He's in charge of weapons, and Joel handles the armor. He's a pretty chill dude, and a decent boss, so I can't complain.

Anywho, it's currently a Saturday afternoon, and I'm just chilling in the apartment, watching TV. Ian and Garrus are on shift, and I have no clue when they'll get back. Knowing them, probably late at night. I've started to hear them complain about C-Sec more lately, mostly about the increased red tape since Sovereign's attack. I pretty much just let them bitch. Give them an opportunity to vent a bit.

Suddenly the door slams open, catching me by surprise. Thinking that someone's trying to break in, I quickly look over at the door to see Ian and Garrus walk in. They look…angry. Actually, no, not angry. Furious.

"Shit guys, what the hell happened?" I ask, sort of fearing the answer.

"Turn on the news," Ian says tersely.

Giving him a curious look, I do as he says. I switch over to Citadel News Net, trying to think of something that could get them looking this angry. They're in the middle of the story when I switch over.

"…_dead, with no survivors. The man, a deranged L2 biotic, walked into a medical supply store and immediately locked the shop down. After taking hostages, he threatened to detonate the element zero nodules inside his body unless reparations were given to all L2 biotics because of the damage done by the implants. Negotiations fell through and the man fulfilled his threat, detonating himself and killing all twenty hostages."_

"Fucking hell..."

"There's what happened," Ian says in that calm tone that people only use when they're beyond pissed off. "So yeah, pretty shit day in the office, before you ask."

"God, I can believe it," I say. There's one question that springs to mind…but I don't know if I should ask it. They might take it the wrong way. Unfortunately, I think I need to ask it so I can understand the situation. "How did C-Sec let that happen?"

"Pallin fucked up, that's what happened!" Garrus yells, scaring the crap out of me.

"Council held him back more than anything else," Ian says obviously trying to be the calm one. I can see the fury hidden under the surface, though. "Garrus had a shot on the guy responsible, but Pallin held him back while he tried to run through the political ramifications."

"Well now twenty innocent people are dead!" Garrus says, still quite angry. "How's that for 'political ramifications'?"

"Hey, I didn't say I agreed with it!" Ian yells, finally snapping. Shit, this could get ugly fast.

"Guys, guys, calm down!" I say over their argument. "I know you two must be pissed off beyond belief, but yelling at each other won't help anything." They both stop yelling, but Ian starts to pace up and down the room for a few seconds while Garrus just stands there by the door. Finally, Ian stops and tries to breathe normally.

"You would not _believe_ all the shit in C-Sec that's caused this," he says, not really sounding any calmer. "Ever since Sovereign, this has just been waiting to happen. Too many people worrying more about their ass than anyone else's."

"I don't think I can take any more of this red tape s'kak," Garrus says. "C-Sec was getting on my nerves before we joined Shepard, but they're going too far now." That…is starting to sound like ME2 Garrus. Is this what pushes him over the edge?

"I feel like I know what's coming next..." I say, trailing off and letting them fill in the rest. Ian stares at me for a few seconds before speaking.

"Five letters? Starts with O?" he asks.

"Sounds like I was getting warm."

"We can't do our jobs here. Not anymore. Garrus is right, this s'kak is too much."

"You two told me that something would get me to Omega...if this doesn't do it, nothing will," Garrus says, finally starting to calm down. "I've wasted my last nerves on C-Sec."

"As a third party, it's my job to ask this: Are you two sure?"

Ian nods. "I'm sure if he is."

"I don't have a place here anymore," Garrus says with a note of finality. "I'm sure."

"Then yeah." Ian looks over at me. "We're going."

"Then there's really nothing I can say to stop you...not that I would anyway. You two stay safe out there."

"We'll look after each other," he says, also starting to calm down a bit.

"I know you will," I say with a smile. Then I pause as another thought enters my mind. "So would you two mind if I stuck around here while you're gone?" Ian just shrugs.

"It's fine by me," he says. "If you find a way to pay rent."

"And don't wreck the place too bad," Garrus adds. "It's still my apartment."

"Ian, I've already got a job, so I should be fine. Garrus, I won't…too much."

"Alright. Good. And...stay safe for two years, mate. Normandy's not gonna be as fun without someone else from our time."

"If anything, I should be telling you that," I say, thinking of all the shit that can happen on Omega. "I'm not the one going to fight baddies on Omega."

"I'm with this guy," he says, patting Garrus on the arm. "Plot armor."

"That's still so odd to hear, but it does make me feel better," Garrus says. I can only imagine what he feels when we start talking about future events, but so far he's been pretty good about it. We haven't told him about his squad yet, though. Ian and I agreed that he didn't need to know that till later.

"You've got a point, bud," I say. "But still, come back in one piece. Wouldn't want that face of yours all scarred to shit." I wink at him.

"You think _you_ don't?" he says. Garrus looks slightly confused about that little trade. We haven't told him about that part, either.

"I think I missed something there," he says.

"Don't worry about it, amatrus."

"Fine, but I want to hear about this eventually."

"You will, big guy," I say, smiling. "I'm sure Ian won't keep it from you long."

"He can be pretty persuasive," Ian says, giving Garrus a grin.

"Alright you two, save it for the trip to Omega," I say, not wanting to get caught in the middle of another goo-goo eye session. "But seriously, good luck out there. You need anything, just send me a message and I'll do what I can."

"Likewise. Keep in touch," Ian says. I give him a reassuring smile.

"I will. Oh, and kick some ass for me. I'll expect nothing less from Space Batman and Space Robin."

"Just so long as you mean that like the cool Robin. You know, the one with the hood. Not that 70s bullshit." My smile grows even wider. Leave it to Ian to totally run with a joke.

"Sure, why not."

Garrus is looking confused again. "I think I missed something…again." He looks over at Ian and grins. "But I'm sure you'll tell me about that, too."

"I will," Ian says, smiling back at Garrus. Then he turns back to me. "But don't say your goodbyes too early, Dylan; we're staying here tonight. Need to get everything together, tie up any loose ends here."

"Gotcha," I say. For some reason, I just thought they'd be leaving right away. "Then I suppose I'll let you two get on that." With that, they nod and walk off to start packing.

The next day, the three of us are standing in front of a docking bay. Garrus and Ian didn't waste any time booking a shuttle to Omega, so I'm here now to send them off. As much as I really don't want them to go…I know Garrus at least has to. And I know that if Garrus goes, Ian goes too. We just kinda stand there for a bit, none of us really sure what to say. Finally, Ian speaks up.

"Well. This is it."

"I guess it is," I say. Then the silence comes back for a bit before I decide that something else is needed. "Seriously, you two...stay safe. I've gotten enough bad news over the past few months." I put out my hand, and Ian shakes it, giving me a smile.

"We'll be fine," the little Brit says. Confident as always. "Worry about yourself for a change, okay?"

I can't help but give a small smile in return. "No promises." Then I look over at Garrus and offer him my hand. "Kick some ass out there, big guy."

He grasps my hand in a turian wrist clasp. "I plan on it. Take care of yourself, Dylan. See you again in a year and a half."

And with that, they walk onto the shuttle. See you later, guys. To whatever god may be listening…keep them safe.

* * *

Well…it's been two months since Ian and Garrus left for Omega. I'm still living in the apartment, but it's just not the same with those two gone. I miss our morning banter over breakfast and hearing them talk about C-Sec over dinner. I also miss being able to talk about my origins. I had gotten so used to having them as an outlet if I thought of something or just felt the need to talk about it. With them gone…well, it's getting kind of lonely. I mean, I'm living in an empty apartment, I eat alone most days, and my only real source of interaction with people is at work. I don't have any friends here. Ian and Garrus are doing their stuff, Kaidan's off on Horizon, Wrex is kicking ass on Tuchanka, Tali's back with the fleet, and Liara's off doing her thing as an information broker.

And here I am, stuck on the Citadel. And honestly, that kind of sucks. After eight months, the Council has started to go full force in destroying everything Jenny worked for. Now, any mention of the attack mentions a "geth dreadnaught" instead of a Reaper. As if that wasn't enough, they're starting to write off Jenny as crazy, claiming that she suffered a "traumatic experience" that "ruined her mental state".

It's fucking bullshit. I can't seem to watch the news at all without seeing some piece about the "crazy Spectre". So even more so than before, I stay out of the apartment as much as possible. Basically, I'm there to sleep. That's it. If I'm not working, I'm wandering the wards or the Presidium.

Right now, I'm walking along a random section of Zakera ward. I don't have anywhere to be…just wandering for the enjoyment. Suddenly, a painfully familiar voice grabs my attention.

"Mr. Owens? Mr. Owens, is that you?" With a small grimace, I stop walking and turn towards the voice. An Arab woman in a blue outfit is walking towards me. She finally reaches me and turns on that annoying fucking camera. "Mr. Owens, I'm Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News. I was wondering if I could take a moment of your time."

"And what is your interest with me, Ms. Al-Jilani?" I ask, knowing full well that she's probably gonna ask about Jenny. She gives me a simpering smile.

"You served with Commander Shepard, Mr. Owens," she says, confirming my suspicions. "That makes you a very interesting person to all my viewers." Well, this is gonna be wonderful. Let's try playing innocent.

"I fail to see how me serving with Commander Shepard would be of any interest to your viewers, Ms. al-Jilani," I tell her with a childlike expression.

"Well, isn't it true that Commander Shepard was responsible for the death of valued Alliance personnel on Virmire? I'm sure viewers want to know if her attitude was that relaxed with her entire squad."

…

Oh fuck naw. She did not just try to insinuate that Jenny didn't care about what happened on Virmire. I ball my hand into a tight fist, barely resisting the urge to punch her. Well, this bitch is about to get the full force of my wit. Taking a deep breath, I school my expression, but she continues before I can give a response.

"Our viewers have a right to know the questionable actions of a questionable leader, Mr. Owens."

…

There are no words to describe the sudden hate I have for this woman.

"Ms. al-Jilani, I would ask that in the future you refrain from speaking ill of the dead," I say, my voice sounding completely hollow. "Both Commander Shepard and Gunnery Chief Williams gave their lives to defend Council space. Don't you dare insinuate that Shepard didn't grieve for Chief Williams, and don't you _dare_ call into question the Commander's leadership. Not to me."

"I am simply offering public opinions, Mr. Owens. Commander Shepard's actions are being called to question by people demanding to know answers. Isn't it true that if Shepard hadn't mutinied and left the Citadel at a crucial moment, that Saren's invasion might have been stopped before it began? Human lives would not have been sacrificed in vain."

"Her actions were the only thing that kept the Council alive," I say, using the same dangerously calm voice that Ian used before he left. "Nothing was being done about Saren, meaning that Shepard's actions actually kept the damage to a minimum. I assume you enjoy living here on the Citadel, Ms. al-Jilani? If so, you have Commander Shepard to thank that the destruction wasn't complete. And yes, human lives were sacrificed, but _no one_ knew that better than she. The bottom line is that you would be questioning her decisions no matter what she did because that's what you do. And I don't have time for that. Good day to you, ma'am."

And with that, I walk away, feeling sick that anyone could believe such pretentious shit. The worst part is that that's becoming the popular opinion. I just…fuck! I just can't take it anymore! It's bad enough that people are denying the Reapers, but now they're actively stepping on Jenny's memory.

In a few hours, I know that that interview will be all over the news. I'm pretty sure that Jenny supporters are a clear minority now, meaning that my opinions won't be well received. Honestly, I couldn't give two fucks about what the general public thinks. Most of the general public is fucking stupid. I get the feeling, though, that the Council might not like some of my comments.

I think I should leave. I honestly have nothing keeping me here on the Citadel, and my life could soon become a living hell if the Council wants it to be. I don't think I could have spent the next sixteen months here, anyway. I would have gone crazy, even without all the fallout I know I'm gonna get from this. Besides, I need to start thinking about how I'm gonna get on Jenny's team for the suicide mission.

A suicide mission…

I had never thought of it like that before. Till now, it was always "ME2 events". But there's a very real possibility that I could die on that mission. On the other hand, there was a possibility of dying on any of the missions while chasing Saren. On the other hand, none of them were considered suicide missions. On the other hand, what kind of friend would I be if I let Jenny go on that mission alone?

In an instant, the answer becomes clear. I'm going with her. Now I just need to figure out how to get on the team. I doubt I can make a big enough name for myself for the Illusive Man to give me my own dossier. I could join Cerberus, but there would be no guarantee of getting on Project Lazarus. So that means sticking close to one of the other recruits.

Garrus is out, seeing as I missed my chance there. Besides, Ian's already with him. I could go to Korlus and join the Blue Suns, hoping to meet up with her when she gets Grunt.

…

No, that just sounds stupid. No way am I joining at the same time as Jack. I ain't getting thrown in prison. That leaves Mordin because I sure as hell ain't waiting till after Horizon. Mordin has serious potential. All I would have to do is get a job at his clinic. He's also on Omega, which would put me closer to Ian and Garrus. Mordin's also one of—if not _the_—first ones recruited, meaning I would be with her almost from the beginning. Plus…Mordin's _awesome_. He was probably my favorite new squad member in ME2.

I think it's decided.

Never thought I'd willingly go to Omega.

**Welcome to the New Family **

**A/N: So there we go! Welcome to the Family is officially back in action! I started out strong with my longest chapter yet. Rightfully so, seeing as there was a lot to cover in this chapter. I'll tell everyone right now that I'm taking a Mass Vexations route with the two year interim: I plan on spending two or three chapters on it. **

**And speaking of MV, I have to thank Herr Wozzeck for letting Dylan watch the wonderful movie he came up with.**

**I also need to thank iNf3ctioNZ for letting me continue to use Ian Shaw. Also thanks to Kassandra Black for letting me use Kassy. And last one: Thanks, quantumparadigm, for helping out with Kaidan's dialogue.**

**So yeah, there are the first eight months of the two year wait out of the way. The next sixteen or so will be covered in the next two chapters. I know a lot of people were curious as to how Dylan would spend the wait and how he would end up on the squad for the suicide mission. Well...now ya know both of those answers! He's gonna hang out with Mordin. Should be fun.**

**Anywho, it feels so good to be back up writing again. I can't wait to hear from all my old regulars, and I hope to hear from new fans as well. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	2. Making Friends

**A/N: Well, folks, it's time for chapter two! The response to chapter one was even better than I could have hoped. So thanks to all of you who read it, and special thanks to those of you who took the time to review. It made coming back feel really nice :)**

**Anywho, I'll stop yapping up here. I'm sure you guys and gals want to read the chapter. Enjoy!**

**Making Friends**

There is a plain under a dim sky. It is covered with gentle rolling curves that might remind you of something else if you saw it from a long way away, and if you saw it from a long way away, you'd be very glad you were, in fact, a long way away.

Three grey figures float just above the plain. Just what they are cannot be described in normal language. Some might call them ghosts, although there is nothing so tangible about them. They might be numbered among those who see to it that atoms spin and that time stays separate from space. Call them auditors. Auditors of Reality.

They are in conversation without speaking. They don't need to speak. They just change reality so that they have spoken.

One says, He has never been this bold. Is he allowed to do this?

One says, He is technically not forbidden from doing it.

One says, It matters not. We will stop him. He believes them to be invisible to us. Well they are invisible in the same way a black hole is. We might not see them directly, but we can see their interactions with everything else.

One says, It concerns me that he is doing this. He is becoming a personality.

One says, Personalities come to an end. Only forces endure. Where you get personality, there are irregularities.

One, who seems to have been thinking about something, says, Just one moment, did you not just use the singular pronoun, "me?" Not developing a personality, are you?

One says, guiltily, Who? Us?

One says, Where there is personality, there is discord.

One says, Yes. Yes. Very true.

One says, All right, but watch it in the future.

One says, I know, I know.

One says, You did it again. You said "I."

One says, No! No! I didn't! I never said "I"!...oh, bugger…

It burst into flame and burned in the same way that a small cloud of vapor burns: quickly and with no residual mess. Almost immediately, another one appears. It is identical in appearance to its vanished sibling.

One says, Let that be a lesson. To become a personality is to end. And now…let us go.

* * *

So I've learned that even in the future, flying coach sucks.

That's right, I've left the Citadel. After that shit with al-Jilani, I decided not to waste any time. That same day, I went to "Miller & McCarthy's" and told them that I'd be quitting. I cited something about family issues, and Joel took it at face value. He was sad to see me go, but he understood. From there, I went back to the apartment and started packing. I also tried to find a shuttle to Omega that was leaving tomorrow. Unfortunately, the only one left wasn't a straight shot; it was stopping at Illium first, but I didn't really care. I just wanted off the Citadel. I also saw the landlord and took care of the apartment. I didn't have near enough money to keep it rented while I was gone, so I just told the guy I was leaving and that he could rent it to someone else. I'll apologize to Ian and Garrus when I see them again, but I feel like we won't be back there any time soon.

The next day, I got to the dock early, even though my shuttle wasn't till the afternoon. Ever since the attack, security's been kind of a bitch. It's worse than post-9/11 America. So it made me glad I got there early; by the time I got through, it was two hours till my shuttle. It was probably the fact that I had my armor with me. I made the conscious choice not to bring my weapons; I figured I could get new ones on Omega anyway. And even with just the armor, security came down on me. Eventually, I managed to get through, but it wasn't a fun process.

I didn't really do much in the two hours before my shuttle: ate some lunch, watched the news (and thankfully didn't see anything about me), and read a book on my omni-tool. I kinda wish I had a physical book, but nowadays, they're crazy expensive.

Eventually, it was time to board, and I quickly found my seat. Like I said, I was flying coach, meaning there was someone next to me, but I was lucky enough to get the window seat. The person sitting next to me was actually a turian. Once he had gotten settled, he seemed perfectly content to keep to himself, and I was just fine with that. I wasn't really feeling talkative. Lemme tell ya, it made for a boring 12 hour flight. Yeah, that's right. 12 hours. It kinda sucked. I don't think the turian and I said two words to each other at all. I was fucking ecstatic when we finally got to Illium and found out that he was getting off here. I was even more excited when I learned that there would be an hour in between arrival and departure, meaning I could get off and stretch my legs. Also eat something.

Now it's an hour later, I'm back on the shuttle. It felt pretty good to walk around after a 12 hour flight. I quickly find my seat again to see that I'm the first one back. That just means I get the window seat again.

I was one of the first ones back on the shuttle, meaning I now have to wait for everyone to board. Wonderful. After about five minutes, most everyone is in their seat, but I still don't have anyone next to me. Huh, maybe I have this row all to myself. That would be kinda nice. I give a contented sigh and look out the window, admiring the view of Illium. It's a wonderful vista, but I remember what Garrus says when you bring him here: It may look polished, but it's just as dangerous as Omega.

Suddenly I hear a commotion next to my seat. Looking over, I see a young woman, probably in her early 20s, messing with the overhead compartment. Well, looks like I'll be having someone next to me after all. She finally finishes messing with her bags, and I can get a good look at her. She looks rather petite, probably no taller than 5'5". She has shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. As she sits down, I give her a nod, which she returns, then go back to looking out the window. Within a few minutes, we're leaving Illium. Once we're in space, I hear a stewardess come by, but I'm not really paying attention. I'm still staring out the window into the far reaches of space.

Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. "Do you want anything?" the woman next to me asks in a surprisingly girlish voice. I turn away from the window and face her.

"Ah, no. Thanks. I'm fine," I say. She just shrugs.

"Alright." She turns back to the stewardess. "That's everything, thank you." The stewardess nods and walks away. Then the woman turns to look straight ahead. After a bit, she turns to me. "So you headed to Omega, too?"

"Yeah, I am," I say, nodding. "I'm assuming since you're on this shuttle that you are too?"

"Yup! Gotta get back to the clinic," she says. Wait, clinic? Before I can think about it further, I notice her giving me a critical look. "Have you ever been to Omega?"

I shake my head. "Nope, can't say I have. Why?"

"I don't know, you just seem a little... young. Not to be rude, or anything." Ah, of course. I guess she looks at me and sees only a 19 year old. I guess I'd be curious, too.

"No worries," I say, waving my hand in a dismissive gesture. "You're just stating a fact. But yeah, I can't say I'm looking forward to Omega, but that's where I need to be."

"Oh really? Can't say I've ever heard someone say they _need_ to be on Omega before," she says with the barest hint of a smirk. I guess that would sound a little odd.

"Well now you have. Though I seem to recall you saying you needed to get back to a clinic."

"You've got me there," she says, smiling. "Working for a clinic, though. It's good work. Especially on a place as rough as Omega. Just want to add a little light to this galaxy, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," I say. So she did mention a clinic. I wonder… "If you don't mind me asking, what clinic do you work at?"

"Mordin's Clinic."

…

Wait, what? Did she just…she works with Mordin? That's…that's kind of awesome!

"Well hot damn. That's why I'm going to Omega, too."

She gets an absolutely dumbfounded look on her face. "Seriously? I didn't know we'd hired someone. How… what...?" Oh…well this could get awkward.

"Well...I, uh, haven't been hired yet," I say, rubbing the back of my neck. "I was hoping to get a job there..."

"...oh... I didn't know that word of Mordin's Clinic had spread so far. Why do you want to work there?"

…

Shit. Shit, I wasn't expecting to have to answer this question yet. I thought I'd have the shuttle ride to think about that. Damn, now I have to think of something.

"I have a friend on Omega, and he said that the clinic saved his life," I tell her. I don't think I'm technically lying. I mean, I do have two friends on Omega, and Mordin might have helped them out at some point. "That's how I heard of it. A few days ago, I suddenly realized that I wasn't really doing anything with my life, and I thought about how I could make a difference. Mordin's Clinic came to mind."

"That's awesome!" she says, taking my answer at face value. "I'm a nurse there; maybe I helped treat your friend." She smiles again, and I'm suddenly struck with the thought that it's a nice smile. "Though we do get a lot of people, so probably not a high chance of me recognizing him. Are you a doctor then?" There's a distinct pause as she looks at me again. "... in training?"

Well, this might be tricky. On the one hand, I could lie and say that I was in medical school or something, but I don't think that would be the best way to start a working relationship with Mordin. I decide to simply tell the truth. Hopefully I can still get a job.

"I'll be frank; I don't have any professional medical experience. The extent of my knowledge is treating battle wounds."

She gives a slight frown. "Hmmm... any other skills you have? I'd hate to see you turned away just 'cause you weren't useful. There are enough people living on the streets, wouldn't want to add to it. Or force you to join a merc group." Her eyes go hard at the mention of mercs. I'm actually not surprised, seeing as she's apparently been working on Omega for a while.

"I have technical skill and tend to learn new concepts quickly," I say, trying to be modest…but not _too_ modest. "I also have combat experience, and knowing Omega, that's probably a good thing." That earns a rueful smile from her.

"Yeah, probably," she says. She seems to think for a few moments before speaking up again. "Well, the clinic is really only guarded by mechs with only two actual guards. I'm sure they'd love to add someone else to the rotation. I'll vouch for you."

…

Seriously? She'd…she'd be willing to vouch for me?

"Wow...thank you. It says a lot that you'd be willing to help a complete stranger," I say with genuine gratefulness. I suddenly realize what I just said and can't help but laugh. "I just realized that I still haven't introduced myself. Dylan Owens." I extend a hand.

"Violet Geller," she says with a smile, shaking my hand. That's a nice name. "You seem like a decent person, and I like helping decent people."

"Well, Violet, I'm very glad that you do. I was expecting to beg a little bit."

That makes her eyes sparkle with…something. Uh oh. I've got a bad feeling about this. "I might hold back just to watch that." Ooh, that's mean. But I also think I would have said the same thing in her place. Well played. Well played indeed. Well, two can play at that game.

"I don't think it'll be pretty. I wouldn't want anyone to be put through that."

"I don't know, a grown man begging for something's always been a little humorous," Violet says with a laugh. "In any case, you don't have to worry about it. Do you plan on staying on Omega for a long time?"

"I really don't know," I say. Technically true, seeing as I don't know when Jenny's gonna pick up Mordin. "But I'll probably be around for a while, yeah."

"Awesome. Where do you plan on staying? I can help you pick a good place, I know the streets pretty well. Relatively 'safe' districts versus the ones you don't walk down unless you _want_ to get mugged, shot and have your organs removed."

"That would be _awesome_," I say. I can't believe how lucky I am to have met Violet. Not only does she work with Mordin, but she's also nice and funny. "Like I said, I don't know Omega, so any help is greatly appreciated."

"No problem. So what'd you do before deciding to start over on Omega?" Damn…I was kinda hoping she wouldn't ask that. I'm not ashamed of my time with Jenny. If anything, I don't like the fame that came with it. It was never a lot, and the whole squad was sort of in her shadow, but the media still paid attention to us. I wonder if I can half-lie. Or more…not tell the whole truth. I don't want to lie to her.

"I, uh, worked with the Alliance for a few months," I say. "Before that, I was living on Eden Prime."

Her eyes widen when I say that, and I can tell that she recognizes me. Damn. Oh well, might as well make the best of it. "That's _right_! You were on the Normandy's crew! I thought I recognized you from somewhere! Pictures all over every newsvid for months following the Battle of the Citadel. Wow, I hope I didn't just make you feel awkward. I can shut up. Do you want me to shut up?" Aww, I think she's embarrassed. That's…actually kind of cute…

"I try not to make a big deal of it," I say, rubbing the back of my neck again. "I was just muscle. Jenny deserves the credit."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Way I heard Shepard say it in one of her interviews, it was a team effort. Don't sell yourself short. Definitely vouching for you, now."

"I'd kind of like to get the job on my own merit, but I won't say no to a little extra help. So thanks again."

"If you were on Shepard's boat, I'm sure I won't even need to open my mouth," Vi says with a smile.

"One can hope," I say, returning the smile. I pause, thinking that it should be her turn to talk for a bit. "So what about you? What made you start working at Mordin's?"

"I'm a colony kid: completed my nurses training at the age of 20, but I wasn't sure where to go from there," she says. "Tried working for a hospital on Illium for a while, but it just wasn't for me. I mean, I know people everywhere deserve to be treated, but there are places where it's more needed, and I really wanted to help people that didn't have it. Found Mordin's Clinic a year ago and have been there since."

"That's pretty awesome," I say. And it really is. Now that I think about it…Vi might be the first person from this universe, outside of the Normandy crew, that I'm really starting to know. It's actually kind of nice: talking to someone I know nothing about. "I'm guessing you like working with Mordin? Or should I say Dr. Solus?"

"I just call him Mordin, but yeah, it's terrific. You would not believe the speed at which this guy thinks. I mean, I know salarians are pretty fast-paced as it is, but Mordin blows them out of the water. He has a good heart; I think you'll like it there."

"I feel like I'll be learning a lot from him. And you, from the sound of it," I say with a grin.

"Definitely," she says, grinning back. "So... what was it like working for the first human Spectre?" Ah, I guess it's my turn again.

"Vi, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I got to see," I tell her, letting a certain amount of wonder into my voice. "It'll take something pretty fucking amazing to top that experience."

"Sounds like quite the tale! Stopping a geth invasion in the Citadel has got to be a story all on its own." She gives a sort of shy, apologetic smile. "I didn't read all the articles about it. Turf war in the streets ended up with a lot of injured civilians. Were you a part of the ground team? That is what it's called in the military, right?"

"Yeah, I was on the ground team for quite a few of the missions," I say. It's weird. This is the first time I've really felt like talking about my time on the Normandy to someone who wasn't there. "It was...terrifying at first, but we had a great team. I learned a lot of stuff from them."

"Wow that sounds incredible," she says, actually sounding impressed. "I think I could shoot a gun if I had to, but I can't imagine being in the thick of things. Got any cool scars?"

"Got six horizontal ones across my chest from a, uh, an alpha varren." She probably isn't ready to know the _real_ reason I got those scars.

"Jesus!" she says, sucking in a breath. "I guess you had the wounds properly disinfected, otherwise you wouldn't still be here. Must have hurt like hell, though. Varren carry tons of nasty diseases."

I nod emphatically. "Seeing as the damn thing also broke a few ribs, it wasn't very fun." Again, not really the truth, but I did break a few ribs on that mission, too.

"Damn Dylan." She shakes her head. "I think the coolest scar I have is on forearm." She pulls up her sleeve, revealing a rather large scar. "Some kid who'd been shot on Omega had a knife in his pocket when he was brought in and pulled it on me during treatment. Shocked out of his mind, didn't know what was going on. We had to sedate him." Damn, it must have cut pretty deep to leave a scar like that.

"Wow. Yeah, I know that knife wounds can get ugly," I say, thinking of the damage I could do with my Bowie. I haven't used that thing since Feros, but I still have it. It was the only weapon I brought with me. Then I grin. "Maybe I should keep my armor on all the time."

"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea," Vi says, laughing. "Though sleeping in it would get uncomfortable." That draws a chuckle from me.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I suddenly yawn. "Oh, man. Sorry 'bout that. Been on this thing for 12 hours."

"Say 'sleep' and the body yawns," she says, shaking her head with a smile. "You know what? I'm tired, too. Hadn't entirely gotten used to Illium's hours during my brief vacation. A nap might not be a bad idea." Cue a yawn from her.

"Then I'll talk to you later, Vi," I say, starting to settle back into my seat. "It was nice to meet you." She gives me a smile and starts doing the same.

"Nice to meet you, too. Wake me up if I'm still asleep when we dock."

"Same goes to you. Have a nice nap."

Because god knows I will.

* * *

I don't know what woke me up, but something did. Looking at my omni-tool, I see that I was asleep for seven hours. Holy shit! So much for a little nap. We're only about half an hour from Omega, then. I look over at Vi to see that she's still asleep. Geez, I guess we were both tired. I don't know how, but she somehow managed to curl up on her side in the seat, and her regular breathing means she's still firmly asleep. She almost looks like a little kitten curled up like that.

God, I can't believe how lucky I am to have met Vi on here. I was expecting to get to Omega and be completely alone. But now, I have Vi. She seems like a very kind, genuine person, and I can't imagine that my luck is actually helping me out for a change.

A half hour later, the shuttle finally docks with Omega. My window was facing away from the station, which robbed me of a potentially amazing view. Somehow, she's still asleep. I decide to make good on my promise and wake her.

"Vi. Vi, wake up. We're here," I say gently, giving her a small nudge. She tries to shove my hand away.

"Just inject him with the blue stuff," she says sleepily. I have no idea what she's talking about, but it makes me chuckle. There are _so_ many ways I can respond to that. Time to have some fun with this.

"As kinky as that sounds, you should probably wake up before you say anything more embarrassing."

This time, her eyes open and she gives her head a little shake. Then she looks up at me and seems to realize what she said…and how I responded to it. A light blush creeps over her cheeks. "Oh…" She rubs her eyes. "Hey…we there?"

"Yeah, we're here," I tell her with another small chuckle. "Time to wake up, sleepy head."

She laughs, shaking her head again. "Ha, funny. Guess I was more tired than I thought." Vi looks around the shuttle, noticing people starting to get out of their seats. "You probably want me to get up so you can get out, huh?"

"That would be wonderful."

"Alright," she says, getting up and stretching before removing rummaging through the overhead compartment. "Which one's yours?"

I stand up, but she's still blocking me in. That means I'm doing that half-hunch that tall people always do on planes. "The medium sized blue one."

She lugs my case out of the compartment and shoves it into my hands. "You just want to follow me to the clinic then?" she asks, finally stepping out of the way and allowing me to get out. "I have to drop my stuff off at my apartment first, but it's on the way."

"Again, that would be _wonderful_," I say, stretching up to my full height. You know, I just realized that this is the first time I've actually stood next to Vi. It looks like I was about right when I said she was 5'5". She comes up to a little under my chin. As I'm looking down at her, she's looking up at me, and she just shakes her head. She's probably used to it by now.

"If you want to dump your stuff there for the time, that'd be fine, too. Unless you have a bomb in there. I don't want that." She eyes my case dubiously. I just smile at her.

"Nope, no bomb. And seriously, Vi, thanks. For all of this."

She turns around to give me a smile and a pat on the arm. When she faces the front again, the line to exit has started to move, so she begins to walk out. "No worries. You didn't stab me while I was sleeping, so I think I can trust you."

"Vi! How could you think I would do such a thing? I'm hurt," I say playfully, following her out of the shuttle.

"Uh-huh, sure." She shoots me a smile over her shoulder before finally stepping out of the transport. I follow her out and take my first steps on Omega. My first impression is…brown. It's very brown. Whether that's the natural color or the accumulated filth of centuries of sullied living I don't know. Vi starts walking away from the dock, so I quickly move to follow her. It's just now that I realize that there doesn't seem to be any security. Though…I guess this _is_ Omega.

Anywho, we pass through a few doors and that's about it. I'm now actually on Omega. It's…I'm not really sure how to describe this. In every direction, there's at least one beggar sitting on the side of the corridor and at least two mercs walking by.

"So, uh...how far is the clinic from here?" I ask, coming to walk next to her.

"Depends on your definition of far," she says, constantly looking around. "We don't have to cross the whole station, if that's what you're asking. My apartment is about four blocks away, and the clinic is only two blocks from there. If you need a taxi though, I can get one for you."

"I think I'll be fine. I was in combat, remember? Walking the streets of Omega should be no problem."

She laughs. "Hmm…yeah. I imagine there would be a lot of walking on missions. You got a knife on you?" she asks suddenly.

"You wanna see a knife?" I ask, also laughing. I reach down to where my Bowie is strapped to my leg. I unsheathe it and hold it up in front of her. In my best Australian accent, I say, "That's a knife."

"As amazing as that is, I'd put it away. See that guy over there?" she asks, pointing at a merc standing a few meters away. He's eying us, I can just tell. "He's casing us. Don't want to challenge him, but don't want him to think we're easy targets." Vi then proceeds to stare at the merc as we continue walking. I do as she asks and sheathe my knife. Then I follow her example and eye the merc.

"Then I hope I gave him a show. We don't mess with him if he doesn't mess with us."

As we pass by the merc, he makes a show of looking away like he was never interested in us. Vi just nods to herself as we keep walking. "I'd say you did. Come on, almost halfway there."

"So will your roommate mind me dropping my stuff off?" I ask, deciding to switch to a new topic.

"No roommate, I live alone," she says. "Maybe not entirely wise on Omega, but I get by. Besides, the clinic is just down the street. If I ever need anything, Mordin's there." Ah Mordin. Yeah, knowing him, he would do something like that. Wait…I shouldn't know anything about Mordin… Shit, I should probably ask something about that.

"Would Mordin really be able to help you out? He's a doctor." That earns me a grin.

"Just wait till you meet him. He won't confirm it, but I'm pretty sure he used to be military or something. He knows way too much about guns otherwise."

"Huh...he sounds like my kind of doc..." I say. She doesn't answer right away, instead turning into a short alley and walking up to a door. She messes with the lock for a second before the door opens.

"Here we are. My apartment's on the third floor," she says. Holy shit, I didn't realize we had gone four blocks already. She enters the building and holds the door open for me. Nodding my thanks, I walk through the door. "Hope you don't mind using the stairs. Elevator's been broken for a week now because _someone_ hasn't fixed it yet!" That last part was quite obviously intended as a friendly jab at the landlord, who's sitting behind a desk in front of the door. He just gives Vi a wave, shaking his head with a smile.

"Eh, no worries," I tell her, following her to the stairs. "A few flights of stairs never killed anyone. Since you know where you're going, after you." She reaches the staircase and hefts her bag onto her shoulder. Then we begin the trek up.

"I don't know, I might kill the landlord over it," she mutters. I can't help but grin.

"Seeing as you're a nurse, killing people would probably look bad on your record," I say, unable to resist a friendly jab.

"Hmm... I could make it look like an accident." She stops and turns around to give me a wink.

"Oooh...you might have to teach me more than nursing..."

"I don't know... every girl's gotta have her secrets," she says in a flippant tone while exiting the stairwell. She proceeds to walk down the hall to the third door on the left.

"I'm sure you've got plenty to spare. We've only just met," I say as she unlocks the door. I follow her into the apartment and stand awkwardly next to the door as she walks into an adjoining room. While she's putting her stuff away, I take a moment to look around. The door opened into what's probably a living room. It's got a green couch facing a vidscreen on the right, a terminal on the other side, and that's about it. The living room connects to a small kitchen near the terminal and the room Vi went into near the vidscreen. That's probably her bedroom then. That's about it. Small, but it's very neat and cozy.

"I'll never give up the location of my mad scientist laboratory!" she hollers from the bedroom, bringing me back to the conversation we were having. Then she walks out of the room and sees me standing there like an idiot. "You can put your stuff wherever. Except the coat closet. Don't want to see what's in there." I can clearly see the mischievous sparkle in her eyes when she says that. I return her look with a grin.

"You know that just makes me want to open it, don't you?" I ask, setting my bags down by the couch.

"Your death wish," she says with a shrug.

"Very tempted to call your bluff right now..." I walk over to the coat closet and open it.

"It's terrible, isn't it? Are you blind yet?"

"I don't think I've ever seen a more horrifying collection of lab coats and random assorted needles."

She walks over to stand next to me and examine the contents of the closet. "Anything in particular you want written on your tombstone?" she asks.

"Hmm...I'm not sure. 'He lived as he died...horribly.' How's that?"

"Pretty gruesome. Better shut the door before your brain explodes from the terribleness." I close the door.

"Well, now that that life-changing incident is over, are you ready to head to the clinic now?" I ask, deciding to get down to business.

"Absolutely." We exit the apartment, and she locks it behind us. "Only 2 more blocks to go. Have you thought about what you're going to say that will be amazingly persuasive and get you the job?"

I give a shrug. "I figure I'll just dazzle Mordin with my amazing charm and wit."

She taps her chin thoughtfully as we head back down the stairs and out of the building. "You know, we could use a receptionist. You'll fit right in."

"Eh, I don't think I have the stunning good looks to be a receptionist. I just have average good looks."

She gives me a sidelong glance as we walk along. That's a very…appraising look. "You'd be better than the last one."

…

Huh? That…sounded almost teasing. I raise my eyebrows, somewhat taken by surprise. Though now that I think about it, that comment could be taken two ways. "I'll choose to take that as a compliment to me, rather than an insult to the last receptionist."

"Just wait till you see a picture of the last receptionist," she says with the barest hint of a coy smile. Damn it, woman, stop that!

"I'm sure it'll be worth a chuckle," I say, trying to play along.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure we'll find you something in security," she says, apparently deciding to drop any talk of receptionists. "Can't let that awesome knife go to waste trimming nails." We slow down as we come to a familiar flight of steps. I think we're here. "Here we are! Mordin's office is in the back. I should probably go let him know I'm back, but you can come, too. Least I can do is introduce you." With that, we enter the clinic. It looks pretty empty. We pass a single patient sitting in the waiting room on our way to Mordin's office.

"Thanks again, Vi. I'll take any help I can get," I say. Right after I do, she opens the door and walks into Mordin's office.

"Hey, Mordin! I'm back!" she says cheerfully. I step into the room, but stay partially behind her. I'm suddenly very nervous. Meanwhile, Mordin looks up from his desk, and I see a tiny smile appear on his old, scarred face.

"Ah, Violet. Wasn't expecting you back so soon. Glad to see you." He actually pauses for a second as he seems to notice me. "Who's this?"

"This is Dylan Owens," Vi says, stepping to the side so I'm in full view. "Met him on the transport shuttle back from Illium. Dad got called away on some business, so I decided to return early."

"Dylan Owens?" Mordin asks, actually sounding surprised. "Part of Shepard's crew? Interesting. Surprised to see you on Omega. Would think you would be happy on Citadel. Maybe even go back to Eden Prime."

…

Holy shit. He actually knew all that about me off the top of his head? That's…impressive. Also a little intimidating. Now I'm even more nervous.

"That's, uh, kinda why I'm here, Dr. Solus," I say, deciding that formality couldn't hurt. "Believe it or not, I was hoping to get a job here at your clinic."

He just sits there for about three whole seconds, apparently considering the idea.

"No. Not hiring."

…

…

Wh…wha…what? He's…they're not…what? I…I hadn't considered the possibility that he'd say no. I just assumed… Everything else had been going so well for me so far.

"Can you at least tell me why?" I ask once my brain starts working again.

"Simple," he says. "This is a clinic. Clinics need doctors, nurses, not soldiers."

"No offense, Mordin, but we rely heavily on mechs for security," Vi says, taking a step closer to the doctor. "We could use another guy to help out."

"Mechs always suitable before. Why change now?"

"You know for a fact that gang activity is rising. The vorcha are pressing closer every day, and the Blue Suns are demanding more from 'their areas.' One more guy, Mordin. Don't kick him to the streets just so he can join the other side." My god, I could kiss Vi right now.

"And I'm not just dumb muscle," I say, trying to plead my case. "I was going to Harvard back on Earth before the situation with Saren reared its ugly head. I can learn to be useful as more than a security guard."

Again, he remains silent for about three seconds.

"Alright. After shifts on security, report to Violet. She will teach you."

…

"Thank you so much, Dr. Solus!" I say, unable to contain the feeling of pure ecstasy coursing through my veins. I barely restrain myself from hugging the aging salarian. "I won't let you down."

"Please, call me Mordin. Now, gather your equipment. First shift starts in one hour. Report to Jesse Fulmer, head of security. Will show you the ropes, as humans say." Whoa, damn…he's not wasting any time, is he? But I guess he is a salarian; they don't have a lot of time to waste.

"Can do, Mordin. I'll be ready. Again, thank you so much," I say, stepping out of his office. Vi follows me out.

"Congratulations!" she says, actually giving me a quick surprise hug. It catches me off guard, and she steps away before I can react to it. Damn, and we only just met. But…for some reason, it feels like I've known her a lot longer. I don't know what it is, but she has this…quality about her that puts me at ease. It's a nice feeling, especially here on Omega. "Looks like I get to boss you around part time, now," she says, pulling me back to the conversation. I give her a huge grin.

"I can think of worse possibilities," I say, jokingly. Then I turn serious again. "Thank you so much, Vi. I think I owe you almost as much as Mordin."

"Don't even worry about it. Now we just to find you a place to live. Though you're welcome to my couch in the mean time." Seriously? Holy crap. I know I've thought this a few times already, but I can't believe how lucky I am to have met her.

"You just keep giving me better and better news. I'll try not to waste your space for too long."

"Eh, it'll be a nice change of pace for a bit," she says. "As long as you don't mind the fact that I stay up really late."

"Seeing as I'm the same way, that shouldn't pose a problem," I tell her. I pause for a moment and look around my new workplace. "I guess I should head back there and get my armor. First shift's in an hour."

Only sixteen months to go.

**A/N: And there's chapter two! Started it off with a quick glimpse at the Auditors, then ran away with some of the longest extended dialogue I've ever had the pleasure to write. And speaking of the dialogue, I need to give major, major thanks to quantumparadigm for letting me use her OC, Violet. If you couldn't guess from this chapter, you fine folks will be seeing plenty of Vi in the next few chapters, so all credit for her dialogue goes to quantumparadigm.**

**Also, I need to mention something now that Dylan's on Omega. This is in regards to Ian and Garrus. The things that happen to them (especially at the end of their time on Omega) will be in no way indicative of what happens in MtM3. Hell, even _I_ don't know how MtM3 ends. So what happens to Ian and Garrus in WttNF probably isn't gonna be what happens to them in MtM3. Just saying.**

**On an unrelated note, _Welcome to the Family_ is apparently sonnet worthy! Rob DS Zeta has kindly written a tribute sonnet for WttF, much like I did for MtM a few months ago (shameless plug). For all his self-proclaimed "lack of poetic skill", he did a good job with it, so all of you guys and gals should definitely check it out. It's called "Welcome to the Sonnet".**

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for this chapter. Till next time, ta ta!**


	3. Learning the Trade

**A/N: Hello, my readers! It's time for chapter three! I've gotta say, I'm not sure how I'm getting these chapters out so fast. Actually, wait, I do know. You guys and gals can thank quantumparadigm for being so awesome at dialogue. Because once again, this is a dialogue-heavy chapter. I guess you'll just have to read the chapter to find out more ;)**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

**Learning the Trade**

"Alright, Dylan, it's 4:00," Violet says, causing me to look up from the datapad I was studying with. "Great job as always today. Hey, maybe soon I'll let you work on actual patients." She says the last with a teasing smile, and I just give a little push-off gesture with my hand.

"Pretty sure I was ready two weeks ago, but I guess you're the boss," I say with a smile, getting up from the desk I've been sitting at for the past two hours. And I've been sitting at that desk for two hours every day for the past month. "I'll see you back at the apartment at the usual time."

"Alright. Have fun standing around for eight hours." I grimace, thinking about boredom I'm about to go through.

"Gee, thanks. Have fun saving lives and shit," I say, completing the now-traditional post-training banter. Vi just laughs as I leave the side room that has become my medical classroom. From there, I walk through the heart of the clinic, passing a few patients and walking by the receptionist desk. You know…Vi never did show me the picture of the old one.

Anywho, I walk past the desk and into the back where the security team keeps its stuff. I open up my locker and start putting on my armor. Luckily I got to keep my armor, and I didn't even have to get it repainted. Only stipulation was that I couldn't wear the mask on shift. Mordin said it was too intimidating, and I kind of agree with him. I don't want to scare away customers. With my armor on, I pull out the shitty Avenger rifle that I had to buy to replace my Mattock. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find another one, meaning I'm stuck with this piece of shit. At least Mordin was kind enough to provide a new Carnifex for me. And of course I still have my Bowie.

Now fully equipped, I walk out of the locker room and into the security point before the main entrance. They guy on duty right now turns around at the sound of the door opening behind him.

"Hey, Dylan. 4:00 already?"

"Sure is, Max," I say, coming to stand next to my fellow security officer. Max's about my height, but a slightly stockier build. He's 25 and used to be a member of the Blue Suns before deciding to quit. He found the clinic soon after, and Mordin hired him.

"Well thank fuck for that," he says. "I've got some bitches waiting for me back at the pad." I can't help but laugh.

"Well don't catch anything," I tell him as he starts to walk out. "Mordin's already said he's done treating you for that shit."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine probie. Have fun standing around!" The door shuts behind him, leaving me alone here in the security room. Well…that's not entirely true. I also have two mechs here with me. But for all intents and purposes, I'm by myself.

Well, if this is anything like the last month, I'm about to spend the next eight hours standing here. But hey, I can't really complain. I mean, I asked for a job here and willingly took Mordin's offer. And even if the security part sucks, it's not really the reason I'm here. I'm here to learn from Vi about being a medic.

Well…technically I'm here to wait for Jenny to come back, but that's fifteen months away. While I'm waiting, I might as well take advantage of the incredible opportunity before me, and honestly, even if I'm not directly working with Mordin yet, he knows who I am, at least. Plus, like I said, Vi's been teaching me how to be a nurse. Or maybe a medic. Apparently there's a difference. Either way, it'll be valuable to know, especially since I'm gonna be taking part in a suicide mission.

But until then, I'm stuck here on guard duty. I don't know how I've lasted a month of guarding the entrance for eight hours a day, six days a week. Well…technically that's not true. Because each guard gets one day off a week, that means that for one day a week, I work a 16 hour day. But on those days I don't have my lessons with Vi, so I basically wake up, take my double shift, then go to sleep. Those aren't my favorite days. Hopefully I can do well enough in my studies to take a full time nursing job like Vi. That would be ideal.

Doesn't change the fact that I'm bored. If only I had someone to talk to. But who? Vi's obviously working. Max or Jesse wouldn't be around, so they're out. I don't really know anyone else around here well enough to have an interesting conversation.

Hmm…

I wonder if Ian's busy. I kind of just realized that I haven't talked to him since he and Garrus left. He wouldn't even know I was on Omega. You know what…that's what I'm gonna do. Opening up my omni-tool, I find his name on my contact list and choose to open up a chatroom with him.

_D: Hey, big guy. You up for chatting?_ For a few minutes, there's no answer, and I start to think that he's not around. Almost right after I think that, though, my omni-tool pings.

_I: Sure, you caught me on my break from merc hunting._

_D: Haha, nice. How's that been going?_

_I: Not too bad, actually. We've got a squad and a base together. Garrus is in his element, ordering us all around. Same as the turian lass who owns the base. She's in charge of my _training_._

_D: Ooh...sounds like _fun_. Catch any big baddies yet?_

_I: Batarian red sand baron, Mirki'it. That'll keep the Citadel's streets a bit cleaner for you, with his supply gone._

Ooh…yeah, he still thinks I'm on the Citadel. Well…guess I better tell him now and get it out of the way.

_D: Yeah, sounds like it. Though there is the tiny detail of me not being on the Citadel anymore._

_I: Wait, what? Then where are you? What did you do to the apartment?_

God damn it. He would ask about that right away, wouldn't he? Well, better get this out of the way, too.

_D: I...ah...kinda told the landlord he could rent it to someone else. I'm actually on Omega, too._

_I: Uh...wow. That's a development. You know the only reason I came here was because of Garrus, right? Why would you turn up on the galaxy's biggest shithole by yourself?_

_D: I couldn't stand all the bullshit on the Citadel anymore. After you two left, the Council pretty much started shitting on Jenny's memory. I...also said some...less than tact things when al-Jilani ambushed me with an interview. Figured I should leave._

_I: Well, yeah, but "figuring you should leave" and "figuring you should go to Omega" are two very different things. Are you looking for a place on the squad? Garrus would be more than happy to take you._

_D: Nah, that's your thing. I got my own gig set up for the next sixteen months or so. I'm working at the clinic. I needed some way to get myself on the squad, and this was the best way I could think of._

_I: By the clinic, I assume you're referring to Mordin's clinic?_

_D: You would be correct in that assumption. It's not a bad deal. I was lucky enough to sit next to a nurse that works here on the shuttle to Omega. She helped me get a job._ Again, I can't help but think about how lucky I've been recently. Besides Jenny letting me join the Normandy after Eden Prime, meeting Vi on that shuttle may have been the best thing to happen to me in this universe.

_I: Well, ain't that a stroke of luck. Guess we'll both be saving lives on Omega in our own way, then. Even if mine keeps me in shape a little better._

_D: Hey, I'm working security. It isn't all sunshine and bunnies for me, either._

_I: Mmhmm. I'm sure you're infiltrating mercenary bases and destroying weapon shipments every other day, right?_

_D: Never said I'm doing the stupid shit you are. But I'm at least keeping my edge._

_I: Good. Wouldn't want you to get too out of shape._

A sound alerts me to the presence of someone in front of me. Looking up, I see that it's actually three someones. And by "someones", I mean mercs. Blue Suns, to be precise. Well…this should be interesting.

_D: No worries about that. Hey, can you hold on for a moment? Got something to take care of._

_I: Sure, no worries._

"Well look what we have here…" one of the mercs says, stepping apart from the group as I close down my omni-tool. Jesse, Mordin's security chief, warned me that the Suns like to come around once every few weeks, trying to get Mordin to pay them for "protection", but this is my first time having to deal with it. "Looks like the good doctor hired a new boy."

"And it looks like the Suns still hire idiots," I say, giving the apparent leader a bored look. I know I can't show any sort of weakness for them to exploit. "Fuck off, you three. I don't feel like dealing with you."

The leader steps right up to the counter that separates us and leans in towards me. "Listen, kid, I can see that you're new here, so I'll tell you how Omega works. You do what we say, and we don't fuck with you too much."

"See, now if Aria were standing in front of me, I'd be inclined to believe that." I pause and reach for the knife on my leg. Unsheathing it, I just start inspecting it while continuing to talk. "But all I see are three nobodies trying to earn a reputation." I stop playing with the knife and look back at the leader. "So like I said: Fuck off."

"Mordin ain't trying to back off his deal, is he?" the leader asks, eying my beautiful Bowie.

"From what I understand, there ain't a deal to back off from. Now do I really have to say it a third time?"

"You know what, kid? I'm gonna let you off easy," the Sun says, suddenly trying to sound nice. "You're new, and that alone doesn't mean you deserve your ass kicked. Why don't you just pay us 500 credits…each…and we'll stop bothering you."

Really? He thinks he can get me with that? My god, do people actually fall for this? Well I'm fed up with this shit. Reaching the counter, which the merc has backed away from, I quickly stab my knife into the top. No mean feat when the countertop is metal. (I also convinced Mordin to stud the blade with mini-diamonds, but they don't need to know that. Don't ask how I did it because even I don't know.)

"Look, I'm starting to feel insulted," I say, placing my hands on the counter on either side of the knife. "If the Suns want to intimidate the clinic, at least send something more than three dumbfucks who couldn't intimidate a wet napkin. So for the _last_ time: Fuck. Off."

"Alright you little shit. You tell Mordin that we'll be back, and when show up again, he'll be losing his newest little helper. Suns out." And with that, he turns on his heel and stomps away, followed by his two cronies.

"I await the day, fuckwads!" I yell after them. Well…that was fun. Well maybe not _fun_, but interesting to say the least. I'm surprised it was that easy to get them to leave. Though it was only three of them. And they were idiots. Still, the principle remains: a 19 (soon to be 20) year old shouldn't be able to scare away three mercs. My guess is that they're new and the older mercs sent them on a fool's errand as a joke. Whatever, though. They're gone, which means I can go back to chatting with Ian. I turn my omni-tool back on and open up the chat.

_D: Alright, I'm back._

_I: What's up?_

_D: Had to deal with some mercs who thought they could get some money from Mordin._

_I: Oh, shit. Did you catch their names and numbers? I can go make sure they don't give you any more bother._

_D: Haha. Thanks for the offer, but I think they were new recruits. I bet the old vets sent 'em to do this as a joke._

_I: Look, mate, don't underestimate them. There's a drell I know on the squad who ran a clinic and thought they were messing around at first, and now...well, he's here, put it that way._

_D: But this is Mordin we're talking about, man. First off, plot armor. Second, he's got mechs galore in addition to actual guards._

_I: Right. And I'm sure the mercs don't have mechs and soldiers either. I've seen what these guys can do, Dylan, the only way we're beating them is by surprise attacks. Don't push them into actually unleashing what they have on you._

_D: No worries, big guy. Mordin basically has a deal with the Suns: They don't bother us, we don't bother them. Like I said, these were newbies who were the butt of a joke._

_I: Alright. You just...you kind of get a bit paranoid about these things. And I'll make sure we keep an eye on Mordin's clinic just in case._

_D: Well I know I'll sleep better at night knowing that Space Robin is keeping an eye on me ;) _

_I: Mmhmm. And if Space Batman found out you were talking to me like that, I'm pretty sure he'd kick your ass._

_D: Don't tell me Garrus doesn't like me again. I tried so hard to win him over._

_I: Nah, he's fine. We're just closer than we were, and...well, you know him. And turians in general. Protective and all that._

_D: Right, right. Well I'm at least glad to hear you two are doing fine so far._

_I: Yeah, we're all still alive, so that's something. And the mercs are suitably pissed off with us. I'd call that a success._

"Dylan!" Vi calls from inside, breaking me away from my chat with Ian.

"What?" I call back.

"We could use your help in here! Gotta big guy who doesn't want to take his meds!" Why do I get the feeling it's more than that? And that "big guy" is gonna be an understatement? I sigh.

"Be right there!" I say before turning back to the chat.

_D: Sure sounds like it. Hey, listen, I've gotta go again. Probably won't be back. I'll talk to you later, big guy. Stay out of trouble!_

_I: Alright, see ya!_

Sighing once again, I close down my omni-tool and head back into the clinic. This should be _fun_.

* * *

"So I've got a surprise waiting for you at the clinic," Vi says as we step out of the apartment. It's been about two months since the incident with the Suns, making it three months here on Omega. Honestly, not a whole lot has happened. In my studies, I've moved on to simulations and cadavers. My first time working on a cadaver was…kind of chilling, but Mordin insisted that I needed to know firsthand where everything was. And I think he was right; reading about the relative position of the human heart in a textbook and actually rooting through a chest cavity are two _totally_ separate ballgames. And now Vi apparently has a surprise for me.

"Why do you insist on doing that to me?" I ask, following her out onto the street. "You know I'm gonna be antsy now."

"Because I like watching you squirm."

"Of course you do," I sigh, but that soon turns into a smirk. "Why am I always stuck with women like that?" That elicits an absolutely wicked grin from Vi.

"Because you're absolutely _adorable_ when you squirm," she says, and for some reason that makes me blush a little. "So are you going to guess, or do you just want me to tell you? One of these is less fun." There's a distinct pause. "For me."

"Hmm...Mordin's transferring ownership of the clinic to me?" I ask, trying to sound overenthusiastic. She just shakes her head with a smile.

"That might be pushing it. Strike one."

"Damn," I say, snapping my fingers. What to guess next? Something totally outrageous just for fun. "Uh...Max got engaged and I'm his best man?"

Vi just stops walking. She's laughing too hard to move. I stop and start laughing, too. "I don't think there's a woman out there that can tie that man down. If there is, I don't know if I want to meet her. Strike two."

"I'm with you on that one," I say. Well…this is my last guess. Should I actually try or go for another joke? I think I'll go joke again. This is too fun. "You've decided to celebrate my birthday again with lots of cake?"

She arches an eyebrow at that. "You think I'd celebrate your birthday at the _clinic_?" she asks, almost sounding offended. "Do you think I'm that uncreative?" Ooh…I can have fun with that line. I shoot her a grin.

"Hey, how am I supposed to know what you're planning in that devious female mind of yours?"

For some reason, she decides to poke me in the side. That's a new one. "You should know me well enough to know that my idea of a party in no way, shape or form goes anywhere near a clinic." She gives me an exaggerated sigh. "And since you struck out, I guess I have to tell you the answer."

"Well, seeing as we're at the clinic, you might as well," I say, noticing that we are, in fact, at the clinic. It weird how after only three months, I've grown so used to the walk to work that I don't even notice it anymore. It's like my feet were acting without bothering to ask my brain about it.

"Ok," she says, entering the room she's been teaching me in for the past three months. She walks over to the locker where the scrubs are stored and takes out a set. With as much ceremony as she can manage, she presents the scrubs to me. "Today is the day that you get to treat real live, breathing patients. With beating hearts and everything."

…

Seriously? I get to see patients? Holy shit! It only took three months! I guess she thought I could do with some hands-on experience. Well hey, I'm not complaining. But I can't let her see me serious right away. It's become part of our routine to joke about almost everything.

"Really?" I ask with a melodramatic gasp. "Beating hearts and everything? No more cadavers or simulations?"

"Beating hearts."

"So what made today the day?" I ask, suddenly turning serious. I'm quite curious.

"You've been doing really well with your studies," Vi simply says. "_Really_ well, and I mean that. I think you're ready."

"Thanks, Vi," I say, putting a hand on her shoulder. Then I grin at her. "Only reason I've done really well is because I've got a pretty kickass teacher." She smiles up at me, patting my hand on her shoulder.

"You're welcome. It helps when you have an awesome student." She puts her scrubs on and opens the door. "Now, let's go get our hands dirty. Figuratively speaking."

"Right behind you, boss-lady," I say, quickly getting my own scrubs on and following her out the door.

Oh, so I should probably say this now: All of my training has been for human care. Vi decided that learning how to care for humans first would make learning procedure for other species easier. Once I have humans covered, it's basically just learning the differences for the other species.

So yeah, every patient on my first day was a human. I'm also pretty sure that Vi was giving me the easy cases. I didn't see a single patient with anything more serious than the sniffles, but the whole day was an interesting experience. And hell, it even got me out of my guard shift. In fact, I'll be having a new schedule from now on: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I work security, and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I work with Vi. I have Sunday off. Hopefully my three days with Vi make up for the three days on guard duty.

Over the course of my first week with the new schedule, I can already tell that it's gonna be much better than straight-up security. After the first day, Vi started stepping up the seriousness of the patients I saw with her. The second day included some sprained ankles and a few broken limbs. Again, it wasn't anything too serious, but it was better than day one. Today, day three, started off with a doozie: first patient was a victim of random merc violence. Now, I've seen men have their heads blown off by sniper shots…but for some reason, this was worse than anything I saw on the Normandy. His face was just a mass of bruises, his nose was broken, he had a slash right across his chest, and at least two of his ribs were broken. Yet somehow, he was able to tell us that a group of Blue Suns did it to him. Hell, he even managed to tell us that he broke one of their arms.

Honestly…I'm not really sure why Vi included me in the team that put him back together. She and another nurse did most of the work while I just sort of stood there and handed them things when they asked. Maybe it was a lesson. Vi's way of saying, "Omega isn't a joke." Well I think it worked. I knew Omega was no laughing matter, but seeing someone assaulted and nearly beaten to death for no apparent reason…it's not pretty.

We finally finish treating all of the man's various injuries after almost an hour. After something like that, Vi and I both agree that we needed a short break, so we head to the small employee break room.

"If I ever find the bastards who did that…" Vi says, taking a seat at a table.

"I know what you mean, Vi," I say, sitting across from her. "I take it this is a fairly common occurrence here?"

She gets a grim expression. "Unfortunately, yeah. Never get used to it, though." Then she gives a short, bitter laugh. "Well, I haven't."

"I knew Omega was bad...but that was worse than I would have thought," I say, shaking my head and looking down at the table.

"You know... I think someday I might retire _into_ the Alliance," she says ruefully. "The injuries are brutal, sure, but not _this_ kind of brutal."

"Yeah, about the worst that Dr. Chakwas had to fix on the Normandy was gunshot wounds...quite often _my_ gunshot wounds." I lost count how many times I ended up in the med bay after a mission. I think at least three or four. I see a smile tug at the corner of Vi's mouth.

"Never learn how to duck?"

"You'd be surprised how many people have asked me that...or maybe not," I say, matching her smile. "But it was usually because I was trying to be a big damn hero. It's not as easy as the vids make it look."

"No, I suppose it isn't," she says, giving me a thoughtful look. "Heroes die. Just look at Commander Shepard."

…

My smile vanishes instantly. My face just goes blank as I look down at the table.

Heroes die. Jenny was - is - _the_ hero. Even she couldn't escape it. I don't know what it is, but I'm suddenly struck by a doubt so intense that I can't think about anything else: What if she doesn't come back? What if me-and Ian-being here has changed canon that much. I can't think of anything that we've done that would change it _that_ much...but the doubt lingers.

"Damn, Dylan, I'm sorry," Vi says, pulling me out of my reverie. She sounds genuinely apologetic. "I wasn't thinking when I said that. I didn't mean it like that."

"I...I know you didn't, Vi," I say, not looking up from the table. "Let's just...just talk about something else."

The door suddenly opens, making me look up to see what caused it. One of the minor nurses is standing in the doorway with a slightly worried look on her face. "Violet, we need you out front. Three Blue Suns just showed up. One has a broken arm, and he's looking for treatment."

"Oh, for the love of..." Vi mutters, getting up from the table. "On my way."

"Right behind you," I say, getting up and following her as she leaves the break room. A group of Suns...one of whom has a broken arm? That sounds all too familiar. We reach the front desk to find the three mercs-two humans and a batarian-standing in the waiting area.

"Could you hurry it up? I've got a fucking broken arm here!" one of the humans yells, looking at the receptionist. Vi calmly walks up to the man, and I can tell by her overall posture that she's not very happy.

"When did you break it?" she asks tersely. The Sun turns to look at her.

"'Bout two hours ago. Some douchebag came up and broke it for no reason."

As the man talks, Vi steps forward to examine his arm. From what I can see, it doesn't look very serious. Hell, the fact that he's even walking and talking probably means it's nothing. Vi obviously determines the same thing because she steps back and folds her arms in front of her chest. "Real men don't lie to cover up their actions. You'll live. Leave."

"The fuck you say to me, bitch?"

"The fuck you call her, shithead?" I ask, stepping forward to stand next to Vi. She raises a hand in front of me, apparently asking me to back off, then lowers it to speak again.

"I said, 'leave'," she says quietly. "Find another clinic to treat your sorry ass."

The merc takes a step closer to her. "I don't think you get it, bitch," he says, and I'm suddenly struck by an insatiable urge to knock this guy on his ass. "You're gonna treat me, or you'll regret it."

Oh he did not just threaten Vi. I step forward, putting myself between the merc and Vi. As I do so, I notice some movement behind the Suns. "And I don't think _you_ get it, fuckwad," I say. "You're gonna leave, or that won't be your only broken arm."

"And just who do you think you are, you little shit?"

I give the asshat a big, cocky grin. "The guy who distracted you long enough for security to come up behind you."

The three Suns quickly turn around to see Jesse Fulmer - Mordin's security chief - and three mechs with their weapons drawn. Now...let me quickly describe Jesse to you. He's about 6'3", 210 lbs of muscle. He's in his early 40s, and most of that time has been spent in some sort of martial capacity, be it the Alliance, a merc group, or security details. He's also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Of course...his enemies usually aren't around long enough to know that.

"You three are gonna want to leave. Now," he says. He doesn't raise his voice, but the tone leaves no misunderstanding; they do what he says, or shit hits the fan. The lead Sun gets an angry look on his face.

"Fine." Then he looks back at Vi. "You've made an enemy of the Suns, bitch. Watch yourself." And with a nod to his two buddies, they walk out of the clinic. For a few seconds after their departure, no one moves, but people get back to work soon enough. Vi and I stay where we are.

"Somehow, I think I'll live," she says quietly, almost to herself. Looking down at her, she looks tense, on edge.

"You ok, Vi?" I ask. She takes a deep breath before answering.

"I'll be fine." She looks up at me. "I really wanted to punch him in the face."

I chuckle and grin down at her. "I almost did. But I knew Jesse would show up pretty quickly, so I figured I'd let him take care of it."

"Probably for the best. I don't think I'm exactly equipped to knock people on their asses."

Oh that's just too perfect an opportunity. My grin grows even bigger. "You _are_ a bit on the small side."

She grins back at me. "Better be careful with those, pal," she says in a playful tone. "I know where you sleep."

"I doubt it counts as sleep on that couch of yours," I say, thinking about the couch I've been sleeping on for three months. Don't know how I've done it or how I haven't thrown my back out, but I suppose it's all good until I do.

"Hey, I love that couch. Don't disrespect the couch. You know, we really should get you a futon or something." There's a pause, and I just know she's gonna give the kicker. "Then I can have my sofa back." Ah, there it is.

"You'll get no complaints from me," I say. The thought of a real bed-even a futon-to sleep on is almost enough to make me jump for joy. But I hold it in. "Now, we should probably get back to work. Still got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

The door to the apartment opens. I remain seated on the couch, staring down at the floor.

"Dylan! Glad you're here!" Violet says, walking in and shutting the door. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had. Ronon found this great place…" She trails off and stays silent for a moment before quickly coming to sit next to me. "What's wrong?"

"I…I fucked up, Vi," I whisper, still staring down at the floor.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks in a soft, concerned voice. I slowly look up from the floor and at Vi.

"A man at the clinic died today. Because of me." I look back down. "I…I couldn't…"

_I walk into the examination room where I left the second patient. He's not on the examining table where I left him. I quickly look around and see him lying on the floor, a pool of blood expanding outward around him. Running over to him, I check the wound and see if he has a pulse. He doesn't._

Vi puts an arm around my shoulder, pulling me from the memory. "Hey…" I look up at her again and see nothing but empathy in those amazing brown eyes. "I doubt it was anything malicious on your part. Sometimes we make mistakes. I know it's cliché, but we're just _human_."

"But this mistake cost a life," I say, wondering how she can be so blasé about it. "Is there any way to justify that?"

"Did Mordin throw you out of the clinic?" she asks. I shake my head. Mordin was a little busy with other patients. "Because he knows it's true, too. Sometimes, you'll have to make a call, and looking back it was the wrong one. You won't always know the details, or you might miss something. Any number of reasons can lead to a mistake. What matters is that learn from them."

"_Cannot take loss of patient so personally," Mordin says. "Tragic event, loss of first patient, but must learn to move on. Not recommending becoming desensitized, but must learn to compartmentalize. Always make best choice with information given. No point agonizing over past decisions. Hindsight 20/20."_

How is it that both of them gave me nearly identical advice? Maybe…maybe I'm not cut out to be a doctor…nurse…medic, whatever. Not even after six months at the clinic and three months seeing patients. But damn it, while I'm here, I need to know that I'm doing the best job I can.

"Vi…I need to know what you would have done. I need to know I did the right thing," I say, almost pleading with her.

"Tell me what happened," she says calmly.

"You know how the Suns and Vorcha are starting to push each other?" Vi nods. "We had two bystanders with gunshot wounds brought in. All the other nurses and doctors were busy with similar cases, so these two were up to me." I pause, taking a deep breath, trying to push down the memories. "One was shot in the chest and the other in the stomach."

"_Dylan, we need you," Elisabeth, one of the receptionists at the clinic, says. "We have two more victims of the turf war and everyone else is swamped with patients of their own. One of them took a shot to the stomach, and the other one was hit in the chest."_

"Were they both lucid?" Vi asks after a moment of thought.

"Kind of. The man with the chest wound was conscious, but he had lost a lot of blood. The one hit in the stomach was mostly just in a lot of pain."

"Ok... I would have directed my attention to the guy with the chest wound, while telling the one with stomach wound how to keep pressure on it to prevent severe blood loss."

"_Alright, Elisabeth, get both of them into examination rooms," I say, despite the nervousness that suddenly set in. She nods, and I see both men wheeled into adjacent rooms. I quickly stop into the stomach victim's room and show him how to keep pressure on his wound. Once he's all set, I go see to the chest victim._

_It was difficult work, but I managed to get the chest wound stable. Somehow, the bullet passed through his chest without hitting anything important. And since it had passed straight though, all I had to do was stop the bleeding and stitch up the entry and exit wounds. Now that he's stable, I walk next door to check on the other patient._

…

_The bleeding hadn't stopped. No matter how much pressure the man had put on the wound, the blood kept flowing. The autopsy report later showed that there was major internal bleeding. The coroner said that the man probably could have been saved if he was seen to right away._

_Getting the chest wound stable took about fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes the other man didn't have. He was dead when I entered the room._

"A gunshot to the chest could have nicked an artery, and I'd want to rule that out as soon as possible, or catch it before he bled out. As soon as he was stable, or at the very least no longer under threat of immediate death, I'd move to the other guy."

…

Tears start welling up. "Thank you," I whisper so quietly I can barely hear it myself. "Thank you so much." Closing my eyes, I lay my head on Violet's shoulder and let the tears flow.

Vi pulls me into a warm embrace, and for a while, my troubles seem to melt away.

**A/N: And there we go! The first six months of Dylan's time on Omega are over. Only 10 left...which will be completed next chapter. Then the boom booms start! I know people are looking forward to the start of ME2 events, but some things can't be rushed. **

**So yeah, like I already mentioned, I need to pile huge thanks on quantumparadigm. Without her, the Omega chapters wouldn't be nearly as good. So thanks, quantum :)**

**On a random note, I've recently become a beta-reader for a story called _Mass Effect: Retold_ by Ank is moose. Chapter 16 should be going up tomorrow. It's very well written, and I suggest all of you giving it a read.  
**

**Anywho, that's about it. Actually, wait, there's one last thing. 53 reviews in two chapters? Holy hell, people. I never would have imagined that. So thanks...for everything. Until next time, ta ta!**


	4. The End of Omega

**A/N: Hello there! Now, before you guys and gals start yelling at me for taking a week, I'd just like to remind you that 10 days is gonna be an average. I got the first three chapters out so fast because I...well, I had the first two and half of the third written when I posted the story... So this is the first one that I've actually written from scratch after posting the previous.**

**And wow, that was long-winded and boring. So to save face, I'll just stop talking and let you fine folks read the chapter. Enjoy!**

**The End of Omega**

A small chirp from my omni-tool makes me look up from the chart I was examining. Looking at my wrist, I see that my shift is over. I let out a contented sigh; this week has been a long one, and I'm looking forward to my day off. To make it even better, Vi has tomorrow off, too. Not really sure what we're gonna do…if we even end up doing anything at all. For all I know, she already has plans.

But right now, I turn off my omni-tool's alarm and finish going over this chart. Once I'm satisfied that everything's ok, I get up to look for Mordin. I was working with him today, so I want to make sure that he doesn't need me for anything else. I find him in his office, going over something on a datapad.

"Hey, Mordin, it's 5:00," I say, standing in the doorway. He quickly looks up and blinks a few times. I know it's weird, but I've always thought it's awesome how he blinks up instead of down like humans do. "There anything else you need me for?"

"No, free to leave," he says. "Did well today. Surprised you caught slightly irregular heartbeat. Impressive." I grimace, thinking back to that patient today. A woman came in complaining about unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pains. Based on that, I thought she had had a heart attack, so I hooked her up to an ECG. Everything looked fine except for something so miniscule that I thought it was nothing. But with the absence of any other signs, I had Mordin take a look at her. Apparently she had arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. Mordin said she was one of the lucky ones who actually showed symptoms. He was able to take care of her.

"Hey, you're the one who actually treated her," I say, coming back to the conversation at hand.

"Still impressive. Especially after only seven months of seeing patients."

"Well thanks. Anywho, I'm gonna get going if you don't need me." He gives me one of his signature smiles.

"As I said, free to leave. Enjoy day off with Violet."

What? How would he know I plan to spend the day with Vi? Though…I guess it wouldn't be that hard to guess. He must know that we live together, and I still haven't really made many friends among my coworkers. Daniel's alright, but he's a bit too…I don't know…awkward? I guess that's about right. He's a brilliant man, but he doesn't have the greatest people skills.

And speaking of coworkers, there's about the only other one that I'm even acquainted with: Ronon. Though…he's not _technically_ a coworker. By that I mean he's not a nurse or security guard. He's more…an independent. Mordin hires him to take care of things away from the clinic. And you can tell what I mean by "things" just by looking at him: 6'5" of muscle. His goatee and dreadlocks actually serve to mellow out a very serious face.

Knowing Ronon, he just finished talking to Mordin about his latest job. I guess I should say hi.

"Hey, Ronon," I say, walking up to stand next to him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hey," he says in that deep voice of his, looking down at me. He is just too damn tall. "Just got back from a job. You off?"

"Just checked out. Vi should be getting done soon."

"Good. You two have plans tonight?"

"Not that I know of," I tell him. Then I shoot him a small grin. "Then again, she never tells me anything." He returns my grin with one of his own.

"I don't think she's ever made plans more than two days out." He pauses, giving me a thoughtful look. "I'm off tonight. You feel like sparring?"

"Yeah...I think I'll pass on that. My dignity still hasn't recovered from the last time." Or my ass, arms, legs, and everything else. I was never one for hand to hand, so I don't know why I got it in my head to spar with Ronon. Even if he were my height, he'd still probably kick my ass. He grins down at me, probably remembering the session with a bit more fondness. Before he can answer, though, Vi comes walking out of the back.

"Hey guys!" she says, looking at both of us. "You waiting on me?"

"Pretty much," I say with a shrug. Then I give Ronon a sidelong glance. "It's always the women, ain't it?" Ronon grins back at me while Vi arches an eyebrow.

"It usually is," he says.

"You may be a foot taller than me, but I'll still kick your ass," she says, giving Ronon a teasing look.

"Considering Dylan turned down my sparring match, I might take you up on that." Oh come on, man. Why you gotta sell a bro out like that?

"Oh?" Vi says, turning that teasing look at me. Then she pokes me in the stomach. I still don't know why she does that. "Don't want to get your ass kicked again?"

"Not particularly, no," I say. "I like it just fine the way it is now: without a boot in it." That earns a smile from both of them. Though in Ronon's case, it isn't much of one, but considering how stoic he usually is, almost anything counts as expressive for him.

"Alright. Either of you have plans tonight? 'Cause I hear there's a concert at Afterlife tonight. Sounds interesting, could be fun."

"I'll go," Ronon says with a shrug.

"Awesome! Dylan?"

"Yeah, sure," I say. "Better than sitting around the apartment all night." That is, as long as the music is good. I really hope it's not the usual techno shit that Afterlife usually plays.

"Well, the concert isn't for another few hours," Vi says. "Plenty of time to get something to eat."

"Then we've also got time to stop at the apartment. I need to grab a few things if we're going out." And by that, I mean change out of work clothes. If we're going to Afterlife, I should also grab my Carnifex. Now that I'm actually working in the clinic, I've stopped bringing it to work. I still carry my knife, though. I'm not an idiot.

"Sounds good. I've got to drop this off, anyway," she says, indicating her medical bag. I still don't know why she brings that home with her. I just leave mine here. But whatever.

"Then let's get going," I say. They both nod, and we exit the clinic, heading to the apartment. We walk along for a bit in silence. That's not so odd for Ronon, but I'm surprised Vi's being so quiet. Maybe she's tired. After a while longer in silence, I finally decide to start a conversation with Ronon.

"So Ronon, I guess the job went well?"

"Yeah, it did," he says, nodding. "Mordin seemed pleased. Don't have anything lined up for the next few days, which is nice."

"I know what you mean. I always loved the downtime on the Normandy."

"I don't normally like it, but the past couple jobs have been straining. I'm looking forward to the downtime."

"Sometimes you just need a break," I say, thinking back to the two weeks before Virmire. Even though we were going on missions all the time, most of my fondest memories with Ash happened in those two weeks. "We had a period of about two weeks where we were on missions every other day. I learned to _love_ any time in between."

"Military life has a way of making you appreciate things you might not otherwise," he says.

"Truer words have never been spoken."

After that, we lapse into silence again, but Ronon actually breaks it this time. "What was it like working as a general contractor with the Alliance?"

"I thought it was the best of both worlds," I say, thinking back to my time on the Normandy. Despite everything, those were still probably the greatest few months of my life. "I wasn't _technically_ part of the Alliance, meaning I couldn't _technically_ be ordered around, but I was also on their payroll. Overall, I enjoyed it, and that's not even taking into consideration the fact that I was working with Jenny."

"Never met her, but she seemed like a hell of a soldier. Damn shame about her."

"You've never seen such a sight on the battlefield. I've seen her drill up to five straight headshots on moving targets at 200 plus meters." I give him a grin. "I don't think she knew how to miss."

"Certainly sounds impressive," he says. "I prefer close combat, but snipers are—"

A sort of muffled gasp makes us turn around. The sight we're met with almost makes my heart stop: Four Suns have grabbed Vi. For a few seconds, neither of us moves as the Suns start dragging her away. Violet is struggling for all it's worth, but the mercs are too strong for her small figure. I see a look of unabashed terror in her eyes before the Suns drag her around a corner.

Her leaving our vision snaps us from our stupor.

"Violet!" Ronon yells, pulling a pistol and running after the mercs. I follow right behind him with my knife in hand. We quickly make it to the alley that the Suns went down to see that it's actually a dead end.

Good. These mercs aren't gonna walk out.

Two of the Suns are holding Violet's arms, and the other two are standing in front of her. Without skipping a beat, Ronon puts a bullet in the back of the center-right one's head. The other one in standing in front of Vi turns around only to suffer the same fate. The two mercs holding her arms let her go and start advancing on us, pulling their weapons. Well seeing as I only have a knife, I need to get close.

I run forward towards the one on the left, and he points his pistol at me. By that time, though, I'm close enough to grab his left hand and push it away from me. With his arm extended out and up, I'm presented with the perfect target: his armpit. It's one of those natural weak points in any armor set, and I take full advantage of it. I thrust my diamond-edged Bowie straight into his armpit, angling it towards his heart. The merc lets out a single gasp of pain and surprise before going limp as my blade punctures the vital organ. I pull my knife free and let the merc's body slump to the ground. I look around to see the fourth merc lying dead with a hole in his head. Ronon wasn't messing around.

A small noise reminds me that our job still isn't over. Violet is on her knees at the end of the alley. I run over and crouch next to her.

"Dylan, get Violet up," Ronon says, watching the entrance of the alley. "We need to get her back to the apartment."

"Right," I say. Then I turn back to Vi. "Come on, Vi, get up. We need to get you out of here." She gives me a sort of vague look, almost like she doesn't understand, but she unsteadily gets to her feet. Seeing that there's a very real possibility that she'll fall when she walks, I have her put an arm around my neck, and I put an arm around her waist.

We slowly walk out of the alley and reach the apartment in a matter of minutes. All the while, Ronon walks ahead of us, constantly scanning the area. Finally, we make it to the apartment building.

"Get her up to your apartment," Ronon says, stopping in the lobby. "I'll keep watch down here in case the Suns are stupid enough to try again." I just nod, not bothering to answer. I lead Vi up the stairs and finally get her into the apartment. I set her down on the couch then lock the door. Not taking any chances.

"Are you ok, Violet?" I ask, sitting down next to her. "Those bastards didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Wow, full name," she says, looking near me, but not _at_ me. "I'm fine, Dylan. I really am. They only grabbed me, nothing serious."

I lightly grab her chin and turn her face towards mine, forcing eye contact. "Vi, I don't want the tough-chick act. Are you ok?" For just a moment, she meets my gaze, and I can still see hints of the fear I saw earlier. She quickly closes her eyes, though, which only seems to prove my point more.

"It's not an act. You were there. They didn't have time to do anything before you and Ronon kicked their asses." She opens her eyes again and tries giving me an earnest look. It doesn't quite work. "Really, I'm ok."

"I wasn't asking about your physical well-being," I tell her softly, noting that she only referred to being uninjured. "Are _you_ ok?"

She tries meeting my eyes again, but quickly looks down. She's silent for a moment then whispers in a barely audible voice, "... No."

"Vi..." I pull her into a soft hug. "You want to talk about it?" I feel her start to shake a little bit.

"That's... the scariest thing that's ever happened to me," she says quietly. "Dylan, if you or Ronon hadn't been there…? I don't even want to think about it."

"Then don't think about it," I say, gently stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. "We _were_ there, Vi. And one of us will _always_ be there."

"Thanks," she says, hugging me tighter. "You're... you're great, you know that?"

I can't help but smile. Maybe joking with her will make her feel better. "Yeah...I know. But if I'm being totally honest, I almost had a heart attack when I turned around and saw those bastards running off with you. It was Ronon who leapt right into action."

"I didn't even see them. Just trying to keep up with you two and suddenly hands were on my arms." She shakes her head, almost like she's trying to get the memories out of her head. "They grabbed me and it was like everything stopped. You know like in bad dreams? When you want to scream, but you can't? Or you try to run, but your feet fumble beneath you? It was like that. There was a panicked moment where I saw you two walking away and I thought... I thought…"

Like a bad dream… _I wanted to scream, throw my rage to the heavens, but nothing came._

"It's ok, Vi, I'm here. I know all too well how that feels." _She's lying on the deck, not moving. I thought I saved her._ "Kneeling on the deck, frantically trying to get my gloves off..." I shake my head, pulling myself out of the memory, and take a few deep breaths. "But it's over."

For some reason, Vi starts shaking even more. "Is it?"

"It is," I say, hugging her tighter to stop the shaking. "You're safe."

For a while, neither of us moves. Her shaking slows until it finally disappears. After a few more moments, she pulls out of the hug and wipes her eyes. "So what happened?" she asks, tentatively. "After you removed your gloves?"

"I...I don't really remember," I say, slowly. _Blood. Her blood._ "I remember blood, so much blood. Then someone pulling me away, and that was it. It just kind of goes dark after that."

"Did they die?"

"I think she was already dead..." I say so quietly I can barely hear myself. Vi grabs both of my hands.

"I'm sorry, Dylan," she says, squeezing my hands reassuringly. "It can't have been easy to watch a friend die like that."

"I loved her, Vi. And just like that, she was gone. There was nothing I could do." I look up into her eyes and once again see nothing but the strongest compassion in them.

"I... don't even know what to say." She places a hand on my shoulder. I put one of my hands over hers, closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths. I…I haven't talked about Ash's death in so long. I thought I had moved on, but…I guess some wounds don't heal that fast.

"You don't have to say anything," I tell her. "Sorry about that. I thought I had those feelings under control."

"You don't have to apologize for loving someone, Dylan," she says, giving me a soft look.

"I know. Just...please be careful. I don't think I could stand losing you, too." I've already lost too many people in this universe.

"I will." She leans in slightly closer, giving me a shy sort of look. "You too, ok?"

"You know me. No promises," I say with a wry grin. "But I'll do my best."

"I'm not letting you off this sofa until you say, 'I promise, Vi,'" she says, leaning back with a playful look. I just shrug.

"Eh. You forget that I slept on this thing for a good three months."

"Concert's not for a few hours. I can wait you out." Wait, she still wants to do the concert?

"I'm surprised you still want to go to the concert after what happened," I say. She grins back at me.

"I'm not gonna let a few assholes ruin my evening. And you mispronounced, 'I promise, Vi.'"

"Why, I do believe you're right!" I say in mock wonder. Then I grin. "I can keep this up all day."

"Me too, pal. Me too," she says, leaning back comfortably on the couch. I follow suit, leaning back next to her.

"Then we appear to be at an impasse."

"Which is why you should give in and say it."

"So I've never asked this before, but is Ronon jealous that I'm living with you?" I ask, deciding to totally change the subject.

"Why would he be?" she asks, giving me a confused look.

"I don't know, I just thought..."

"Nah, he knows about you and me."

"Alright," I say, letting the matter drop. "I just didn't want to take any chances after seeing him in that alley." She gives me a knowing smile.

"Just so you know, I'm taking your change of the subject as you effectively caving and saying you promise."

Damn it, I was hoping she wouldn't notice. Or at least forget about the promise. Oh well, I'll give her an honest answer. "This is Omega, Vi; you know I can't make a promise like that. But I'll do my best."

"If I can make the promise, so you can you," she says. "Easy. Three words." Then she reaches over and grabs my mouth, moving it like a dummy. "I promise, Vi." She lets go and grins. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Wow, she's really hell-bent on this, isn't she? But…I guess I can let her have this battle. Especially after what happened. But to keep up appearances, I give her a long-suffering look.

"I promise, Vi. Happy now?"

"Very," she says with a big smile. I can't help but smile back.

"Anything for my little Violet."

* * *

"Drinks are on me tonight, Dylan!" Violet says with a smile, leading me into Afterlife. "Birthday boy should never have to pay. Especially not on his 21st."

That's right, folks, it's my 21st birthday. I can't believe I've been on this rock for over a year. Hell, this is my _second_ birthday here on Omega. Unbelievable. On the bright side, according to my calendar, there are only about two months before Jenny comes back. That's even more unbelievable: the fact that she's been gone for almost two years. I wonder if I'll even recognize her.

I wonder if she'll even recognize me. Fourteen months on Omega have a way of changing people. Personally, I don't think I look any different. Just older. I'm still the same man she knew on the old Normandy…mostly. I think. I don't know. I guess I'm not the best person to notice changes in myself. But I can only hope that I don't look like a stranger to her.

Vi tugging my arm pulls me back to the situation at hand. Right, Afterlife.

"Thanks, Vi," I say, returning her smile. "You know you didn't have to do this. I would have been fine just having the day off."

"Are you kidding me? That's like the top of the list in best friend obligations: friend turns 21, you _have_ to buy them a drink. It's just how it goes."

"Hey, never said I was complaining. Saying 'Oh you didn't have to do this' is part of any birthday with friends." We step through the final set of doors, putting us in the club proper. And that means all the asari strippers and awful techno that the game had. Only more. I look around the club, trying find somewhere sort of out of the way. "So where do you want to sit?"

Vi looks around, too, and soon taps me on the arm. She points to a booth in the far corner. It's in an alcove, so maybe it'll drown out some of the noise. "Over there looks good. And a little quieter than the rest of the place." She starts walking towards the table, and I follow behind her. We finally navigate through the crowd and sit down. "So any significant, life-changing thoughts on your 21st birthday?"

"Other than 'Holy hell, I can't believe I'm 21'," I say. "Not really. I've never been big on birthdays."

"Well, this birthday is going to be fun," she says with a smile. "Now, we have a very important decision ahead of us." She picks up a cocktail menu and hands it to me. Oh boy, this should be good.

"Hmm..." I start flipping through the menu. Browsing through, I see names such as "Screaming Orgasm", "Rusty Nail", and "Test Tube Baby". That's not even counting all the non-human drinks. But there's one drink that I can't seem to find… "Is it too much to hope that they have Apple Pie?"

"I have no idea what that is, but I'm sure if you describe it to the waitress, you might be able to get something close to it," she says, also looking over the drink menu. While she's thinking, a server comes up. "I think I'm going to have a bourbon furnace."

I give the menu one last glance before deciding that it's not worth the trouble. I look up at the server. "Ok, I guess I'll have what she's having," I say. The server walks away, and I turn to grin at Vi. "If I go blind, I'm blaming you."

"Oh shit, better change my order then." If she didn't have a giant grin, I might have believed her. "So when do you want your present?"

"Am I gonna want to be buzzed before I get it?" I ask, fearful that it'll be a joke present like last time. I still can't look at a shovel without feeling queasy. I have no idea how she got that varren to do that. She gives me a devilish grin.

"... Maybe. Yeah, we should definitely wait until we get some alcohol and sugar in you." Oh god…I'm scared now. Before I can think about it more, though, our drinks arrive.

"Then let's get to it," I say, raising my glass. "To Vi: the only reason I'm not dead in a gutter somewhere." She raises her glass, too.

"First one to finish gets to pick the next round!" she says, clinking glasses. With that, I get to drinking. I just go for a straight bottoms-up, trying to beat Vi at her own drink. It tastes pretty much like hot, spicy apple cider with a kick. I finally finish the drink and put the glass down, shaking my head. I look up to see Vi sitting there with a smile on her face and an empty glass in front of her.

"Damn, woman. I'm not going to remember most of tonight, am I?"

"Not if I have my way," she says with a wicked grin. "Though I'll go easy on you and not pick ryncol... yet."

"I've seen a krogan drink ryncol," I say, thinking back to the onetime Wrex managed to get some on the Normandy. "You couldn't pay me enough to drink that poison."

"We'll see about that." She orders another round of the same thing. The drinks arrive quickly enough, and we both raise our glasses again. "To Dylan: the only reason _I'm_ not dead in alley somewhere!"

We repeat the process, but this time, I finish first. "That's the stuff..."

"Just remember I didn't order ryncol," she says.

"Too bad there's no apple pie," I say, mostly to myself. "190 proof Everclear would do pretty much the same thing."

"You do see how small I am, right?"

I shoot her a grin. "I have noticed it on occasion, yes."

"Just so long as you keep it in mind," she says. Then she returns my grin. "Or you'll be 100% responsible for taking me home."

"If we keep this up, we may be sleeping in this booth tonight," I say, indicating the two glasses in front of each of us. We've barely been here for fifteen minutes. Vi just laughs.

"Won't that be a sight! Two people sprawled all over the table, blacked out. Though..." She bounces on the seat a bit, managing to look cute while doing so. "These seats aren't that bad."

"If we get woken up in an awkward position, I'm blaming you," I say with a devilish grin. She strokes her chin with a thoughtful look. Uh oh…I probably shouldn't have said that.

"That just might be worth it... I mean, it _is_ your 21st birthday."

"I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear you say that," I say, giving her a look. She returns my look with an innocent one of her own.

"So you're saying I should cancel the lap dance I ordered?" she asks.

"What? Where?" I ask with pretend excitement, looking around the club. I'm not actually looking for anyone, but a certain human catches my eye. He's about 5'6" with semi-long blonde hair.

Is that…? Is that Ian? Holy hell, I think it is! He's standing at the bar with a drell and a turian who isn't Garrus. What the hell? Just then, he looks around, and we make eye contact. He gives me a wave and says something to his friends before starting to walk over to the booth.

"That's not the stripper I ordered," Vi says with obvious sarcasm as Ian gets closer. I just ignore her, standing up to greet Ian.

"Ian? What are you doing here, man?" I ask, extending my hand. He grasps it and gives it a shake.

"Hanging out with some friends," he says, pointing over shoulder at the turian and drell. "And apparently waiting to strip for you." He looks at Vi. "Is this the future ex Mrs. Owens?"

"I keep telling you you're not my type," I tell him with a grin, addressing his stripper comment. Then I look down at Vi. "Vi, this is my friend, Ian. Ian, this is Violet. We work together at the clinic."

"Nice to meet you," she says, standing up and smiling at Ian. "Is this the friend you told me about ages ago on the transport shuttle?"

"Yeah, it is." I give Ian a look telling him to play along. He gives a barely perceptible nod.

"He's said all nice things, I assume?" he asks. Then he gestures to the seats. "And are we gonna keep talking standing up?"

"My bad, bud. Have a seat. You want anything?" I ask as we all sit down. Vi and I sit across from Ian.

"Nah, I've had plenty with those two," he says, pointing to his friends still at the bar.

"Since when did you start drinking?" I ask. "Last I remember, you never went near the stuff." He was the only one sober when we were on Noveria.

"I never said it was alcoholic, did I?" He looks at Vi. "Did I?"

"Technically true," she says with a grin. "So how do you two know each other?"

"Well, I'm assuming Dylan's told you about all his heroics serving on the SSV Normandy?"

Vi nods. "I think it was more along the lines of number of bullets he'd taken from trying said heroics," she says, giving me a smirk.

"Well, put it this way; without me, he'd have taken a damn sight more." And now he's smirking at me. I grin right back at him.

"And without me, I seem to remember a certain geth armature that was about to get very well acquainted with you."

"You know me, always encouraging inter-species relations to improve," he says flippantly.

"By taking a siege pulse to the face?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. It's times like these I really wish I could raise one at a time.

"I prefer to see it as a sign of friendship. It's like a geth high five, apparently."

"A geth high five?" Vi asks, shaking her head and laughing. "So you two served together on the Normandy? How'd you get here? I know his story." She pats me on the shoulder.

"Well, I was a detective at C-Sec before the Normandy, so I went back to that for a bit," he says. "Then the bureaucracy made that go to shit, so I came to Omega and now I..." He glances at me, almost like he's asking for approval for something. I don't think it's my place to decide for him, so I give a small shrug. "I guess you could say I freelance," he finishes.

A silence descends over the table as Vi eyes Ian. Then she looks over at me, and I can see her slightly incredulous look. Finally, she looks back at Ian. "A Freelancer."

"Uh...yeah. That's what I said." Wow, he actually sounds nervous as Vi continues to give him that look.

"You don't seem mean enough to be a mercenary," she says. Well, there's his problem. Vi's never been a fan of mercs, especially after the incident with the Suns.

Ian glances over at me, almost pleading with me to get him out of this mess. He starts squirming in his seat. "I guess you don't know me well enough?"

Finally, Vi looks over at me. "You're friends with a merc?"

I look between Ian and Vi before finally focusing on Ian. "She's not gonna let this go, big guy," I tell him. "She hasn't had the best experiences with mercs. You want to just tell her?"

"Can I trust her?" Ian asks. That draws a confused look from Vi.

"I trust her," I say. Now she's giving me the same look.

"Alright, alright, fine." He leans in closer and whispers, "Look, I'm not exactly a conventional merc. You, uh...you ever hear of Archangel?"

Vi gives me a curious look then leans in closer to Ian. "Yeah..."

"I might be involved with his activities, put it that way." That earns a wide smile from Vi as she leans back.

"Well, that's a hell of a thing. I probably wouldn't tell most people, either." She pauses and manages to look a little shy and embarrassed. "I'm sorry I was a bit mean."

"No worries," Ian says, waving it off. "All things considered, I think I'm in a good position to understand not liking the mercs."

"Yeah, that can't be an easy life. But if you ever need a bullet extracted or something, Dylan's learning really well how to do that."

"I'm at the point where most people don't come back and complain," I say, giving him a grin.

"Maybe if you ever go back to the Alliance, you can remove some of those bullets you get yourself," Vi says, giving me a teasing smile.

"I told you I'll learn how to duck." I glance over at Ian. "Not so sure about him, though."

"Looks like you'll be getting a few extra scars," Vi says, also looking at Ian.

"Looks like it," he says. Then he laughs and shakes his head. "You know, it's funny. Three krogan interrogating me and I give nothing up. You give me one evil glare and I spill everything. Though I guess I'm not counting on anyone bursting in and shooting you."

"It's not that evil, is it?" she asks, looking at me. I give Ian a sidelong glance then look back at her.

"I've seen you calm krogan in blood rage at the clinic with that gaze."

"Oh well," she says with a shrug. Then she looks at Ian. "So you know Archangel?"

"Boy, do I know him," he says with a grin. I try to hold back laughter, but it doesn't quite work. Vi looks between us.

"Am I missing something?" she asks.

"Oh yeah...definitely," I say.

"If I added a broad wink would that help?" Ian asks. Vi cocks her head to the side before getting a knowing look on her face.

"Oh, you _know_ him."

"There we go."

"So that why you're really here then?" she asks, winking at Ian.

"Well, it helps, sure," he says. "I did really get sick of stuff on the Citadel though. This way, I get to protect people, and I've not got the crazy security measures holding me back."

"That's awesome. I know a lot of people look up to Archangel. Not enough good on Omega."

"Yeah, there's not," he says with a nod. "But a candle in the dark's better than nothing."

"That was poetic, Ian," I say. A sly grin soon follows. "Not going soft on me, are you?"

"You're the one who's gone all doctor on me," he retorts. "Blowing up illegal shipments doesn't exactly seem soft in comparison."

"I didn't see you stuck in the middle of that Suns/Vorcha turf war a few months back."

"It's twelve of us against an entire army out there, we can't be flashy all the time. Besides, if you're not seeing me, I'm doing my job right."

"It was three security guards against two full gangs," I say, giving him another grin. "And all I heard in that last part was that you're not good enough for a stand-up fight anymore." He grins back.

"Hey, if you want to test that theory, tough guy..." My grin gets even wider.

"As long as you don't suggest a tiebreaker later."

"So Ian, did you know today is Dylan's 21st birthday?" Vi asks, louder than usual. I'm actually kind of glad she did. That could have gotten all kinds of awkward.

"It is? Oh, _shit_, I didn't get you anything," Ian says. There's a distinct pause. "I mean, I left the gift at home."

"Ian, I'm _hurt_," I say, taking mock offense. "Right here." I pat my chest where my heart is.

"You're a doctor, you must have something you can take for that," Ian says with a smile. I return it.

"I'm pretty sure a present would cure my aching heart," I tell him.

"What, did Vi not get you anything?"

"I got them right here, pal," she says, reaching under the table and pulling out two presents. She hands them to me with a grin. "I think you've had enough drinks now."

I open the smaller of the two first, revealing a nice, black medical case. I look up at Vi, smiling at her. "Thanks, Vi. Just what I needed."

"Just open your other one," she says intently. I comply with her wishes, unwrapping the other gift to find—

…

I shouldn't be surprised. I really shouldn't be. And yet, I think this passes last year's gift.

She got me a hot pink lab coat with "Fabulous Medic" written in glittered letters across the front. Again, I really shouldn't be surprised. But now that I think about it…I can have some fun with this. I look up at Ian to see him grinning like an idiot.

"I think these are more your style," I tell him with a grin of my own.

"Yeah, I thought I was supposed to be the gay one."

"If you really want them, I could be persuaded to give them to you."

"Pretty sure my man likes my clothes as they are," he says. "And that's hurtful to Vi, Dylan." He shoots me a mock-disapproving look. I quickly turn to Vi and grab her hands.

"My dear Violet...my sorrow knows no ends," I say with as much melodrama as I can manage. "Could you ever forgive me?" I grin at her.

"I think... I might just be persuaded to forgive you," she says with a faux-hurt tone. The she returns my grin. Only hers has a very wicked edge to it. "Provided you put on the lab coat so I can take a picture."

I look down at the lab coat again. I don't think it could be any more pink if it tried. But hey, it's my birthday. I should have some fun. "Hmm... Well, I am fabulous..." I look up at Vi. "No other way?"

She shakes her head solemnly. "No other way."

I give an exaggerated sigh. "Fine." I put the coat on and grab the bag. Looking inside it, I realize it's the same pink as the coat on the inside. Should have known. Hmm…you know, since I've already got the coat on, I might as well have fun with this. I strike a stereotypical gay pose and say, "Draw me like one of your French girls."

"You know, that stereotyping is offending me so much right now," Ian says.

"You know I love you, Ian." There's a distinct pause as I realize who I'm talking to. "No homo."

"You just had to ruin it with those last two words, didn't you?" he asks with a grin. I grin back.

"Still not my type."

"You don't say," he says, glancing at Vi. A slight blush creeps over her cheeks.

"I did get him to wear the lab coat..." she says. Then she winks at me. This woman…

"This is the first and last time it'll ever happen," I tell her. "Even you can't make me put it on again." She just grins.

"Pictures, remember?"

…

"Damn it."

* * *

_A scream echoes through the blackness. A scream filled with such terror and unending pain that it pierces the very fiber of my being. Images flash across my consciousness faster than I can process. I try desperately to grasp at one, endeavoring to make sense of the scenes shooting through my mind. _

_Suddenly, it stops. The sights fade to black, and the echoes of the scream slowly die away. I heave a mental sigh of relief as the anguish slowly ends. _

_Abruptly, the void is once again replaced by visions. These, however, are coherent enough to comprehend and are unaccompanied by screams. A being on its knees: one hand clutching its chest, the other extended to the heavens. A flash, and the scene changes: more of the same beings, now running from an unseen terror._

_The cry of anguish starts again. The pictures begin to speed across my mind's eye again, too fast to grasp. The inhuman shriek continues, cutting through my soul, driven by the power of a trillion lives long since consigned to the annals of myth and legend. _

_Finally, a single image coalesces from the chaotic collage: three grey figures floating above a seemingly endless plain. The scream dies away, lost within the vast emptiness of the landscape. Words start entering my mind without bothering to disturb the air molecules in between._

_We know you are here. We know who brought you. Remember that with strange aeons even Death may die…_

I shoot up out of bed, sweat pouring down my face. Holy Jesus shit. Wow. I haven't had a vision dream in so long. After a few more seconds of panting, I check the time: 9:00. Well, at least the dream let me get a good night's sleep this time. My shift at the clinic starts in about an hour, meaning I've got plenty of time to get that damn vision off my mind.

As I get up and start making breakfast, though, I can't help but think about it. It was mostly the same as before except for the end. Usually the Reaper horde ends my dream, but this time…I don't know what it was. For some reason, just the memory of those floating figures sends a chill down the basest reaches of my brain: the part that hasn't forgotten to look out for predators hiding in the tall grass.

Whatever. I need to put it out of my mind. If today is anything like the past week, I'm gonna have my work cut out for me at the clinic. Deciding that getting to work early would probably be a good thing, I scarf down my breakfast and leave the apartment. Before heading out, though, I leave Vi a note. She has the night shift, so she's still asleep.

Once that's done, I leave the apartment building. Walking down the street, it's plain to see that the quarantine has hit the district hard. Well…not as hard as the plague itself. I still remember the first patient that came in with the sickness. The poor batarian was nearly coughing his lungs out, and he had nasty sores dotting his body. Mordin recognized the implications immediately and isolated him from the other patients. Unfortunately, the damage was done. By the end of the day, the clinic was full of plague victims.

Aria actually set up the quarantine the next day. Though, I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, it _is_ Aria. Either way, she got the quarantine in place, leaving us to deal with the plague. Ever since that first day, Mordin's been working feverishly to make a cure. I know that Jenny should arrive shortly after he does, but I have no idea how long it'll take him to make the cure. So everyday has had an air of anticipation, wondering if Mordin will find the cure.

I hold my breath as I pass a bonfire near the clinic. Mordin started burning bodies after the first victim. It makes sense from a hygienic standpoint, but something about it still seems slightly wrong. But Mordin's the doc, and he knows best. Who am I to question his decisions?

Anywho, I finally reach the stairs leading to the clinic to find Ronon walking up towards me.

"Hey, Ronon," I say, giving him a small wave. "What's going on?"

"Another job," he says. Then he gives me a sort of inspecting look. "You have a weapon?"

Huh? That's an odd question to ask. But whatever, I'll humor him.

"I always carry my knife, and with the quarantine in place, I've started bringing my Carnifex to work. Why?"

"For some reason, the Suns are starting to pull troops out of the district. It doesn't make sense. You'd think they'd be taking advantage of the plague to crack down on this district." He pauses, looking thoughtful. "I think they're preparing for something big elsewhere."

"Shouldn't the Suns pulling out be a good thing?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"The Suns leaving means that the Vorcha are free to take over," he says with obvious disgust. "As much as I hate the Suns, at least they have _some_ standards. The Vorcha don't. So be careful when you're walking around."

"Alright, Ronon. Can do."

He just nods and walks off. Well, that was an interesting little chat. He mentioned the Suns preparing for something. I wonder…could it be Garrus and Ian? I haven't heard from Ian since I saw him at Afterlife two months ago. I hope everything's alright…but I guess there's nothing I can really do about it. All I can worry about now is the plague.

I walk through the door, giving a nod to the receptionist as I walk by. She just nods in acknowledgment then gets back to work. It's kind of a madhouse in here since Mordin started taking in refugees.

"Ah, Dylan, glad you're here," Mordin says as I walk in the back. "Need assistance. Believe I have cure. Need to be sure."

"Alright, what do you need me to do?" I ask, getting on a coat.

"Administer cure to sample of infected tissue. Run analysis, test for effectiveness. If right, tissue should be healed quickly."

"Can do, Mordin." I take a small vial of the possible cure and a sample of infected tissue. I get everything started then look back up at Mordin. "You really think this is the cure?" Please say yes, please say yes. He inhales sharply in his signature style.

"Yes."

I barely resist the urge to fist pump and jump for joy. That means Jenny should be appearing in the next few days! I can't believe it! The wait is almost over!

"Good. This has been going on for far too long."

"Agreed," he says. "How are tests coming?" I look down at the data streaming across the screen.

"It worked…" I say in a quiet voice after a few seconds. "All remnants of the virus are gone." I hear footsteps in the door behind me as I look up to see Mordin's ecstatic face.

"Excellent, Dylan. Have also devised airborne method of delivery. Should ensure maximum coverage in minimum time." Before I can respond, whoever walked in behind me speaks up.

"Dylan?"

**A/N: Hey look! A cliffhanger! At least I waited till chapter four to do the first one. Unlike WttF *cough*firstchapter*cough*. So this is now the longest chapter I've ever written. You can blame iNf3ctioNZ and quantumparadigm for being so damn good at dialogue. It's their fault I've been writing longer and longer chapters ;)**

**But seriously, I think my average chapter length is gonna be slightly more than WttF. Not that I'm hearing any complaints from you guys and gals. In fact, y'all have been practically showering me with wonderful reviews. 78! In three chapters! I'm expecting to reach 100 with this ;)**

**Anywho, that's about it for now. I'll try not to make you wait too long for chapter 5. Till next time, ta ta!**


	5. Back in the Action

**A/N: Howdy, folks! I know I left you guys and gals with a cliffhanger (sort of) last chapter, so I won't ramble on up here. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Back in the Action**

I turn around slowly—ever so slowly. I don't think I trust myself to move any faster. That voice…it was exactly the same. That same, wonderful mezzo soprano voice, capable of such amazing ranges of emotions and expressive in a way that one can't help but hang on her every word. I finally turn all the way.

…

And there she is. After two years, she's finally back. She's wearing the same style N7 armor she wore on the original Normandy without a helmet, like usual. Then I finally see her face. Her beautiful brown eyes are perfectly rounded in surprise, and her mouth is slightly agape. You know, I don't think I've ever seen her truly shocked about anything.

For a few long seconds, we both just stand there, not quite ten feet apart. At some point, I started grinning like an idiot. Finally, I break the tableau and quickly stride forward. Once I reach her, I wrap her in a great big bear hug. After the initial shock of my sudden action wears off, she returns the hug with equal intensity.

It's strange, but this is the first time that I really noticed how…small Jenny really is. She's only a few inches taller than Violet and not a whole lot bigger.

Finally, I release her and take a step back, still grinning like an idiot. Her surprised expression is gone, replaced by one of happiness rivaling my own.

"Jenny… Is that really you?" I ask, needing to be absolutely sure. Besides, I'm sure she's expecting it.

"I could ask you the same thing, Dylan," she says.

"Hey, I'm not the one who got spaced." For the briefest moment, a look of pain flashes across her face, and I immediately regret bringing up her death so soon. The look is gone as quickly as it arrived, replaced by the same look of happiness as before. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"What happened is a long story," she says with a small sigh. "We can talk about it later on the Normandy…assuming you want to join me again." The last part is said very hesitantly, as if she's afraid of rejection. That's right; she's already had Tali reject her offer.

"Jenny, you don't even have to ask," I say, giving her another big smile. "I would love nothing more than to be back on the Normandy with you."

"Don't you at least want to know what my new mission is?"

"I doubt it matters very much. I'm saying yes no matter what this mission is." A look of intense relief crosses her face, and that just made my decision worth it. Still…I should probably ask what the mission is. Just to keep up appearances. "Just out of curiosity, now that you know I'm with you no matter what, what is this mission?"

"You've heard about human colonies going missing?" she asks. I simply nod. "My new, uh, employer doesn't want that happening. I'm building a team for a dangerous mission." She pauses and looks at Mordin, who's been quietly observing the conversation the whole time. "Dr. Solus is on my list."

"Never expected to see Commander Shepard in my clinic. Dangerous mission you say?" he asks, sounding curious. There's a brief pause before he starts walking around, checking equipment. "No, too busy. Clinic understaffed due to plague. Plague growing out of hand. Can't leave now." Another pause. "Who sent you?"

"It's a covert, pro-human organization," Jenny says, somewhat evasively. Come on, Jenny, you're gonna try to keep secrets from Mordin? Well, you're about to find out why you have a dossier for him.

"Pro-human? Obviously well funded: brought you back from dead. Weapons and armor indicate militaristic methods and origins. Few pro-human groups likely to know of me. Only one option." He pauses his random activity to look at Jenny. "Cerberus sent you. Unexpected."

For the second time in just a few minutes, I see Jenny look surprised. "That was impressive, Dr. Solus. How does a salarian know about Cerberus?"

"Crossed paths on occasion," he says simply. "Surprised to see them requesting salarian aid."

"The disappearances are more than just simple pirate or slaver raids," Jenny says. "The Collectors are behind the attacks. We're gonna stop them from taking any more colonies. Permanently."

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague in this district is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." He stops and walks over to the machine I was using to test the cure. "But must stop plague first. Just perfected cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

"The vorcha shouldn't be a problem. We killed plenty on our way here."

"Well it should be easier, seeing as I'm coming with you," I say. Jenny smiles, but before she can answer, an unfortunately familiar voice speaks up.

"Commander, I don't think that's such a good idea." And hello Tits McGee. This is the first time that I notice the squad standing behind Jenny. Obviously Miranda and Jacob are there, but Zaeed's standing there, too, looking bored to tears. Though now, Miranda has stepped up next to Jenny.

"Really?" I ask, eyeing the Cerberus operative. Well, not _eyeing_ her, like, checking her out, but more eyeing as in assessing. But not assessing her assets, just her defining characteristics. But not physical characteristics, personality…you know what? I'm just gonna stop trying to explain this. Yes, she is very attractive. Yes, it's hard to miss her tracts of land. No, I'm not ogling her. "And why might that not be a good idea?" I ask, coming back to the conversation at hand.

"You're a complete wild card," she says. Man, if only she knew Death. Because that's apparently one of my strengths. "This mission is too critical to risk by taking on a random clinic nurse."

"Enough, Miranda," Jenny says, throwing her a look. "In case you've forgotten, Dylan was part of my original crew. Even if he doesn't have a dossier from The Illusive Man, he's more than qualified to join my crew." She seems to put a bit more emphasis on "my", maybe trying to remind Miranda just who's in charge. "Besides, I trust him implicitly. If he wants to come with us, I'm certainly not saying no."

"Thanks, Jenny," I say, giving her yet another warm smile. "I would like nothing more than to be a part of your team again." Before I can say any more, though, the subtle hum of the ventilation system shuts off. The silence that remains is somewhat discomforting, and it's only heightened by the eerie red emergency lighting that just came on.

"What on Earth?" Miranda says.

"Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates," Mordin says. He walks over and hands Jenny a vial. "Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from our stockpile. Will likely need it more." He hands her a Carnifex. Mordin does seem to like that gun. "One more thing. Daniel: One of my assistants. Went into vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back."

"Wait, Daniel left the clinic?" I ask. Even though I know he does in the game, I hadn't noticed him leave. Maybe he was already gone when I showed up.

"Yes. Told him not to go. His efforts useless without finished cure."

"Don't worry, Mordin, we'll find him."

"Thank you, Dylan," he says. "Understand wanting to go with Commander Shepard. Won't try to stop you. Best of luck."

"Thank _you_, Dr. Solus," Jenny says. "We'll get to the environmental controls, turn the power back on, and release the cure."

"Yes, good. Will be here when you return." And with that, he starts synthesizing more of the cure, presumably to help the people already here.

"And if you'll give me two minutes to get my stuff, I'll meet you at the door," I say. Jenny nods, and I quickly walk into the security room. Even after I started working in the clinic, I kept my armor and weapons here just in case. I quickly get my armor on and grab my weapons. My Carnifex goes at my hip, and the Avenger that I've had to use goes on my back. I guess I should mention that both of the weapons have been fitted to use thermal clips.

Finally, once my weapons are in place, I go back to my armor locker. I have one more piece to put on. I grab my mask from the top shelf and give it a quick inspection. It still looks the same as the day I bought it: jet black with the red stripe down one side and the stylized damage. I haven't had a reason to wear it since the Normandy was destroyed, so putting it on again seems right somehow.

Now that I'm loaded for bear, I walk to the exit of the clinic. Jenny's standing there with Miranda, Jacob, and Zaeed, waiting to go. She speaks up as I approach.

"Before we get started, you need to meet the squad," Jenny says. "You've already met Miranda. That's Jacob, and that's Zaeed." She indicates each person as she says their name.

I take a moment to study Jacob and Zaeed. Jacob is…well, he's every bit as ripped as he is in the game. Holy hell, man. I think his biceps are bigger than my thighs. He looks like a freaking upside down triangle: very broad shoulders and a relatively skinny waist. His face, once you look past the powerful features, shows a sort of…openness. Sincerity, I guess would work, too. He's not trying to fool anyone.

Zaeed, on the other hand, looks every bit the bastard he is in the game. Despite his apparent age, he seems in very good shape. I guess being a career merc and bounty hunter will do that to you. His face is…well, it's pretty hideous. The whole right side is just a maze of scar tissue, and the milky-white eye is slightly unsettling. However…if you ignore the fucked up side and focus on the normal half of his face, Zaeed actually looks fairly young. He mentions that he started the Suns with Vido twenty years ago. I'm assuming he was pretty young when he started them, so he's probably no more than 50 years old. Probably closer to 40.

"Nice to meet you, Dylan," Jacob says, extending a hand and pulling me out of my musings.

"Same to you, Jacob," I say, shaking his hand.

"Is that mask supposed to scare me, kid?" Zaeed asks out of the blue. I look over at him to see him examining me.

"I doubt anything short of finding thresher maws in your toilet could scare you, Massani," I say, deciding to joke around but also give him a bit of praise. I always did like Zaeed, even if he is a bastard.

"How'd you know my last name?" he asks suspiciously. Good point, but there's a reasonable explanation for that.

"I've been on Omega for over a year. How could I not have heard of Zaeed Massani? You're the most infamous bastard on this rock."

He narrows his eyes at me but doesn't say anything. He gives a single nod and lets the matter drop.

"So do you know how to get to the environmental controls from here, Dylan?" Jenny asks, getting back to business.

"I haven't really had much occasion to go there, but yeah, I know the way. So I guess you can follow me." Jenny simply nods and steps aside, letting me get to the door.

I walk forward and open the door, drawing my Carnifex at the same time. Because of my low opinion of the Avenger, I hardly ever use it. In almost all situations, I use the Carnifex.

Anywho, the door opens, revealing a staircase upwards. Before I even reach the top of the steps, the telltale sound of vorcha voices reaches my ears. I quietly approach the entrance to the courtyard that I know is on the left at the top of the steps. Peeking around the corner, I can see about four of the ugly bastards standing in the courtyard itself. There are two more on a slightly raised walkway to the right and at least three beyond the court. So probably close to ten of the buggers all told. I pull back and inform Jenny.

"Alright, doesn't sound too bad," she says. Her brow furrows in thought as she comes up with a plan of attack. "Alright, Jacob and Dylan, you two take that walkway on the right. Kill the vorcha that are up there then fire down on the ones in the courtyard. Miranda, Zaeed, and I will attack from right here. Sound good?" The four of us nod. "Then let's get to it. Jacob and Dylan, once you're in position, start us off."

"Aye aye, Commander," Jacob says. He looks over at me, and I nod. We quickly dart across the entrance to the courtyard and remain undetected as we climb a small staircase that leads to the walkway.

The two of us take positions on either side of the opening to the path. I peek around the corner and confirm that there are only two enemies. Pulling back and looking at Jacob, I point to myself then stick my thumb out to the right. He nods, pointing to himself then to the left. Good, we're in agreement.

He readies his Predator and raises one hand with three fingers extended. Then two. Then one. When I see his hand close into a fist, we both round the corner into the pathway. I take careful aim and gently squeeze the trigger. My first shot is right on the mark, taking the vorcha right in the head. A large portion of the back of its skull suddenly disappears before it falls to the ground. I'd like to see it regenerate that! At the same time, I hear three quick shots from Jacob, and the second vorcha promptly joins its companion in death.

There's a brief silence before the entire area erupts in gunfire. The vorcha down in the courtyard are the first to react, turning to start firing up at Jacob and me. We quickly take cover behind the low rail that separates the court from the walkway, but I do feel a few bullets impact my shields. Quickly enough, though, the fire on our position lessens as the sound of gunfire increases. Looks like the other team has made their presence known. I pop over the rail to fire a few shots into the crowd. The vorcha that were hanging out in the back have advanced into the courtyard, bringing the total down there to nine. Looks like I underestimated the enemy forces. Doesn't matter now.

I manage to empty my clip, hitting a vorcha with every shot, but somehow, none of the vorcha die. God damn it, these little buggers are hard to kill. I'm pretty sure some of my shots took off limbs, but they're still fighting. I guess the only sure way to kill them is to give them a new hole in the head.

I pop in a new heat sink, ready to rain more hell on the enemies in the courtyard, but a noise at the end of the walkway makes me look that way. A door that I hadn't seen before opens, letting four vorcha out onto this level. Well…that's not very good. There isn't a whole lot of cover along the length of this thing, meaning we have to kill them fast.

"Jacob! Four enemies, end of the hall!" The Cerberus operative quickly looks up to see the vorcha. Before I can get a shot off at one of them, Jacob glows blue and sends a ball of biotic energy at the group of hostiles. The front two start floating helplessly, caught in Jacob's pull. Because they're not a threat in that state, I aim for the two that are still firmly on the ground, more specifically, the one on the right. My first shot nails it in the shoulder, but the thing just looks at the wound, looks back at me, and hisses. It starts to charge at me, but I pump another shot into its stomach. That staggers it, but it quickly recovers and starts the charge again. God damn it! Fuck this! I take careful aim and fire two more shots. The first misses, but the second passes right through the vorcha's skull, stopping it literally dead in its tracks.

Jacob easily took down the other vorcha that isn't floating, meaning we're free to deal with the ones caught in the pull. I kill one with the last two shots in my clip, and Jacob drills the other with three shots to the chest and one to the head. I insert another thermal clip into my pistol then look down at the situation in the courtyard. Jenny and the others have killed five of the nine vorcha.

Just as I'm about to start shooting down, I hear the door open again. I look up again, expecting to see another group of vorcha.

…

Well fuck me sideways, that's a big krogan.

"Whoa there," Jacob says next to me. "Let's take this sucker out fast."

"Couldn't agree more." And with that, I start sending rounds into the krogan. I don't hear anything from Jacob right away, and I'm about to look over at him when the telltale sound of a shotgun goes off right next to me. I guess he was just switching weapons.

I manage to empty an entire clip into the now-charging krogan, and Jacob gets off two shotgun blasts. We barely manage to take his shields down.

He's also right on top of us.

The hulking krogan swings his arm at me, throwing me into the wall. The impact knocks the wind out of me, and I slide down to the floor in a heap. My head is killing me, but I scramble to my feet to find the krogan lifting Jacob by the throat. The operative has dropped his shotgun and is pounding the krogan's arms with little effect.

Shit, I need to do something, or the krogan will choke him to death! The krogan's back is facing me, leaving me with numerous options. I could shoot him point blank, but the bullets might go straight through the krogan and hit Jacob. I also have my knife. I remember the last time I tried to knife a krogan—back on Feros all that time ago—and remember that it didn't quite end so well. But I think it's the best option.

I pull my knife out from its normal place and walk up behind the krogan. Now…how to go about doing this? Do I stab him in the hump? Maybe I could hamstring him. I feel like that would be the easiest option. I don't think the hump carries any vital organs, but a good old slash to the back of the knee would ruin anyone's day. I put as much power as I can into my first swing, knowing full well that I might not be able to get a second one in.

A thick spray of orange blood shoots from the wound, and the krogan lets out a tremendous roar of pain. Dropping to one knee, he twists his upper body, once again sending me into the wall. Again, I slide down to the ground and simply lie there with my eyes closed. I hear a single shotgun blast go off, quickly followed by footsteps running towards me. I open my eyes to find Jacob kneeling next to me. He's giving me a big smile.

"Thanks, Dylan," he says, offering me a hand. I take it, and he hauls me to my feet. "You saved my ass with that crazy stunt. I owe you."

"I'm pretty sure you paid me back by killing that bastard," I say.

"Only reason I was able to kill him was because you gave me that opening." He pauses, giving me a look. "I owe you, Dylan."

"Alright, I won't complain." It's now that I realize that the sound of gunfire has stopped completely. "Sounds like the others finished up down there."

"Sounds like it. Why don't we go regroup?" I just nod, and we slowly make our way down to the courtyard.

"Are you two ok?" Jenny asks as we meet up with the others. "We had just finished up down here when we heard the final shotgun blast."

"I tried hugging a krogan again," I say, referring to the old joke. Jenny laughs and shakes her head while the others look at us in confusion.

"I thought you would have learned by now," she says once her laughter has passed.

"Hey, last time it won me a beautiful woman. I was hoping that would work again." I pause and give a sidelong glance to Jacob. "Too bad Jacob was the only one around." That causes Jenny to start laughing all over again. God I missed that sound.

"Commander, we really should be moving," Miranda says, giving me a disapproving look. Geez, lady, I'm just trying to make a joke. Jenny's laughter slows down until finally coming to a stop.

"Right. Dylan, you ready to keep going?"

"Always ready, Jenny," I say, smiling behind my mask. She just motions for me to lead the way.

At the back of the courtyard, there's a staircase leading up. I really don't know why the environmental controls are so high above the rest of the district. Maybe it's something to do with air flow. Eh, who knows? Not my concern right now. My concern is the two doors at the top of the stairs. Now…if I remember correctly, Daniel is through the one on the left. I quietly approach that door and hear a few angry sounding batarians on the other side. There's a brief silence once they're done which is replaced by a single human voice. Yupp, that's Daniel. I look back at Jenny.

"I think I found Daniel," I whisper, not wanting to alert the batarians on the other side of the door. "It also sounds like he has company. And not the friendly kind."

"Alright, so we go in and save him," Jenny says. "Everyone, stack up for a breach, but hold your fire unless they shoot first. Saving Daniel is the priority." The others nod, though Zaeed doesn't look too happy about the rules of engagement.

The five of us stack up, and Jenny hits the door control.

"Please…you have to believe me," Daniel says as we burst into the room. Daniel is standing in the middle of the room with a batarian right up in his face. There's a second batarian off to the side. Said batarian notices our entrance and draws his shotgun, warning his friend. The one near Daniel takes a step back from the assistant and points a pistol at him.

"Don't move! One more step, and we'll kill your friend!" the batarian says, looking at us but keeping the pistol trained at Daniel.

"I know you're scared: of the plague, the vorcha," Jenny says, putting her pistol away. Damn it, I hate it when she does that! She always puts her weapon away when we're in situations like this. Granted, putting the weapon away has probably saved us a few times, but it won't always work. Though this seems to be another successful attempt. While the batarians keep their weapons out, they seem to relax slightly. "But this man isn't to blame for any of it. He's an assistant at Mordin's clinic. Now think for a moment. Would Mordin appreciate it if one of his assistants was killed?"

"Shit, he works for Mordin?" the second batarian asks.

"I don't want anything to do with that salarian," the first one says. He seems to consider the situation before looking up at Jenny. "If we release him, are we free to go?"

"I won't stop you from leaving," Jenny says. The two batarians share a final look before finally lowering their weapons. Well, there's another successful paragon moment for Jenny.

"He's free to go." The batarian pauses as he turns to face us. "You got what you wanted, human. Are you keeping your end of the bargain?"

"Squad, lower your weapons. A deal's a deal." I immediately holster my pistol, but the others are slower to act. Zaeed looks positively angry as he lowers his assault rifle.

"Human nobility…I didn't know such a thing existed," the batarian mutters as they both walk out of the room.

"Thank you," Daniel says after a few moments of silence. "I thought they were going to…to kill me. Did Mordin send you to find me?"

"Of course he did, Daniel," I say, stepping forward. "What were you thinking, running off at a time like this?"

"Dylan? I…I thought I could find people who needed help and bring them back to the clinic."

"There are more than enough people already there who need help. Mordin created a cure, but he needs your help getting it to everyone who needs it at the clinic."

"I…I hadn't thought of it like that," he says, looking down at the ground for a moment. Then he looks back up at me. "Thank you, all of you. I owe you…well…everything."

"Just hurry back to the clinic, Daniel," I say. "The path back is clear." He nods and walks out of the room.

Well, we saved Daniel. Now to get those fans back on.

* * *

Alright, we made it to the environmental control room. There wasn't really a ton of resistance after we found Daniel. Well…there was one fairly large firefight, but we had the high ground. The vorcha never really stood a chance. Still, I forgot how tiring actual combat was. It's been…well two years since I've been in a major engagement. Granted, I did have to deal with some stuff during shifts on security, but that was always small-scale, once-and-done stuff. We never had extended firefights, let alone _multiple_ firefights. I hope the SR-2 has a gym…

Anywho, Jenny opens the door to the control room, and the five of us walk in. The room looks pretty much the same as it does in the game: a long central room with two lower corridors on either side. The control panels sit at the back of the room, currently deactivated. Unfortunately, there are four vorcha between us and the panels.

One of the vorcha starts talking, and honestly, if there's one thing that I hate more than fighting vorcha, it's _listening_ to them. Seriously, holy hell. I can't believe that Mark Meer voices these bastards, too. I don't really pay attention to the conversation because it's basically the same as the game.

The exclamation of "We kill you first!" and the commencement of shooting bring me back to the situation at hand. I quickly dive into cover next to Jenny and draw my Carnifex.

"Just like old times, eh?" I say over the sound of gunfire. Jenny shoots me a smile.

"Sure is," she says. "Though these aren't geth."

"Is it too much to wish they were? I kinda miss those flashlight heads."

"Stick around long enough and I'm sure we'll fight some." She pops out of cover and takes a shot with her sniper before ducking back down. "But right now, let's focus on killing these things first."

Three shots from my Carnifex ring out in response. And what do you know, that was the last vorcha. I'm not really surprised. There were only four of them, and there are five of us. Not hard to figure out who was gonna win.

"Alright, the consoles at the back are what we're looking for," I say once the echoes of the fight have died away. "We'll be able to insert the cure into the system from there."

Jenny nods and quickly crosses the room to the controls. She manages to turn the system back on and insert the cure in less than a minute. Damn, I forgot how good she is with tech.

"It looks like we need to turn the fans on, too," Jenny says. "For some reason, the fan controls are on either side of this main room. Jacob, you and Dylan turn on the right fan, and we'll take the left."

"Can do, Jenny," I say as Jacob nods. I don't know why she keeps putting us together, but I suppose we have a nice balance. I'm combat/tech, and he's combat/biotics. Plus, he's actually pretty chill, so I won't complain.

With a plan in place, each team heads towards its assigned objective. You know…I thought there was supposed to be a firefight after we put the cure in. And I thought there were more enemies on the approach to the fan controls… There's no one else here. Huh. I guess they didn't feel like showing up. Works for me.

We quickly get to the fan controls and turn them on.

"Right fan is on, Commander," Jacob says over the radio. You know, I just realized that I don't know what frequency they're on. I guess they'll tell me once I'm on the Normandy.

"Same here," I hear Jenny say through Jacob's earpiece. "Regroup at the entrance."

"Roger that, Commander," he says as I open the door.

…

"Uh, Commander? We might be a little late. We've got hostiles." A bullet whizzes by me as I take cover on the left side of the door.

"We do too. Kill them so we can get out of here."

Jacob doesn't bother with a response. He just leans around the door and starts firing his Predator at the group of enemies. From what I saw when the door first opened, there were five or six vorcha out there. Not _terrible_, but not great, either.

I lean out to see four vorcha advancing towards us and one lying dead on the ground. I guess Jacob got one. I send four shots towards the closest enemy, two of which miss. The other two hit the thing in the shoulder and neck. The vorcha goes down, but it continues to twitch as blood pours from its throat. I lean back to put in a new thermal clip.

Jacob glows blue, sending a ball of biotic energy at the vorcha. I pop back out of cover to see two vorcha floating helplessly. Jacob just killed the one that wasn't caught in his pull field, leaving me to deal with the two floating ones. Since they're not really a threat, I have plenty of time to line up nice, clean headshots.

Well, that was the last of them. I look over at Jacob, and he nods. We leave the fan room to meet up with the others. Hopefully the other group has—

_BANG!_

I quickly turn around to see the vorcha that I had shot in the throat holding a smoking pistol. In an instant, I empty three rounds into the creature's head at point blank range. God damn it, I hate those mother fucking vorcha and their mother fucking regeneration!

I suddenly hear a groan next to me, making me turn around. God _damn it_!

"Jacob, are you alright?" I ask, kneeling next to the Cerberus operative. "Where'd it hit you?"

"Lower thigh," he says, biting back a curse. Fuck, that isn't a very good place to be hit. If the bullet even nicked the femoral artery, he could bleed out in minutes.

"Alright, Jacob, listen to me. I want you to carefully lie down and call Jenny. Tell her our situation. Does that jumpsuit have a medical interface?" He shakes his head. Fuck! God damn it, Illusive Man! Well, that makes things interesting. "Then once you're done calling Jenny, just lie back and relax."

Thankfully, he follows my orders without question. Thank god I had enough time at the clinic to develop my own "doctor tone". Right, I quickly check to make sure that there's an exit wound. There is which makes my job a whole lot easier. I quickly apply medigel to the entrance and exit wound to stop the bleeding. Just to be safe, I grab a tourniquet from my medical pouch. I'm really glad I decided to add this to my armor. I tightly wrap the tourniquet around his upper thigh to stem the blood flow to the wound.

Jenny and the others finally show up.

"Is he gonna be ok?" she asks, kneeling next to me.

"I think so," I say. "If it had hit the femoral artery, he'd probably be dead already. But we should get him back to the clinic. I've done all I can for him here."

* * *

Well, Jacob's gonna be fine. We got back to the clinic, and Mordin was able to better treat the wound. He did compliment my on-site treatment, though, so that was very nice. Any compliment from Mordin should be cherished.

And speaking of Mordin, he has officially agreed to join the team. So now Jenny, Zaeed, and I are waiting for Mordin to get his stuff together. Miranda took Jacob back to the Normandy so Chakwas could take a look at him.

As we're waiting, something creeps into the back of my mind. I got to thinking about what was up next, and I realized that Jenny still hasn't gotten Garrus and Ian. Suddenly, Ronon's warning from earlier today springs to mind: The Suns—and every other major merc group—are preparing for something big. There's only one thing that could be: taking out Archangel and Deadpool.

God, if they're in trouble right now, do we have time to go back to the Normandy? I don't think I could do that, knowing that Ian and Garrus are fighting for their lives. Great, so now I somehow need to tell Jenny without seeming like I know who we're getting next.

"So Jenny, is Mordin the only one that you're picking up here on Omega?" I ask, deciding to let her tell me about Archangel and Deadpool.

"No, we've actually got a double dossier to do before leaving here," she says.

"Really? Who for? I may have heard of them during my time here."

"A turian and a human," she says after a moment's pause. "We don't have names for either of them, but the turian goes by 'Archangel' and the human is 'Deadpool'."

"Those two?" I ask, trying to seem surprised. "Um…then you might have a problem."

She shoots me a sharp look. "What do you know, Dylan?"

"I think the major merc groups have started an assault to take them out."

"Already? The dossier said they had pissed off the mercs, but it didn't mention anything about them being in danger."

"Well…there's one more thing you should know," I say, deciding that Jenny ought to know who they are. "I know who Archangel and Deadpool are. And so do you." She doesn't say anything, but she motions for me to continue. Well, here it goes. "It's Garrus and Ian."

For the third time today, Jenny seems truly shocked. She manages to regain her wits quickly, though, and suddenly looks all business. However, before she can say anything, Mordin comes out of his office.

"Ready to leave, Shepard," he says simply.

"Good," Jenny says. "I hate to tell you, but the Normandy will have to wait. Dylan just informed me that my other two dossiers are in danger."

"Understand. One team mate down, need me to replace him. Again, ready to leave."

"Then let's get going." Mordin just nods, and the four of us head toward the exit. Jenny, Zaeed, and Mordin all walk ahead, but I sort of linger. I've spent the last sixteen months of my life here in this clinic. Even though I knew I wouldn't _stay_ here, I've had some good times at this little clinic.

"Mordin need you for security or something?" a familiar voice asks from behind me. I turn around to see Vi standing there, eyeing my armor. What is she doing here? "'Cause I gotta tell you, I am _tired_. I don't think there's enough coffee in this clinic to keep me going."

"Oh, hey Vi," I say. "I thought your shift wasn't till later."

She gives me a slightly accusatory look. "Mordin called me about 30 minutes ago, said something about you... going off... honestly, I didn't understand a word he said other than, 'need you at the clinic' because he was speaking a thousand miles a minute and I had just woken up. Anyway, I figured Jesse must have needed you for security or something. Especially with the vorcha pressing closer."

Wait, so she got called in early because I left? Well damn, now I feel like a jackass.

"Sorry about that, Vi. Didn't know Mordin would call you in early." I pause, thinking of something. If we're going straight to saving Ian and Garrus, I might not have another chance to say goodbye…

God damn it. But I can't just leave. Not after everything we've been through together. But how do I tell her? I don't really have time to skirt the issue. I guess I need to just spit it out.

"I was, uh, hoping I could tell you this under better circumstances, but...I'm leaving, Vi," I say quietly.

"Oh..." she says, looking slightly confused. "Where are you going?"

I rub the back of my neck, and I'm surprised at the fact that I can't meet her eyes. "Well, you see, that's, uh, kind of an interesting story. Remember how I served with Commander Shepard?"

"Uh huh..."

"Well, she's, uh... She's kind of alive again, and I'm maybe joining her squad again..." I pause, realizing that that isn't _technically_ true. "Actually, scratch that, I am joining her squad again..."

There's a long pause, and I just know that she's trying to understand what I just said. "But... what... how?"

"See, I don't really know how, but I do know that it's her. No doubt about that," I say. Finally, I get the courage to look into her eyes. "I have to do this, Vi."

"And you just... trust that it's really her?" she asks with a questioning look, taking a step closer to me.

"I _know_ it's her, Vi."

I see her look into my eyes, seeming to search for…something. "So... gonna go back out and save the galaxy? Apartment's gonna feel quiet now."

Aww…of all the responses she could have given, I wasn't expecting that sort of resigned tone. God, it makes me feel like such a dick, just leaving her like this. But…but…I need to do this. The only reason I'm here in this universe is to help stop the Reapers. I wish there was some other way that didn't involve leaving her like this, but there's not.

"Vi...you know I wouldn't leave for no reason," I say quietly. "This is something Mordin and I have to do."

"_What?_ But, what about the clinic? The patients? The _plague_?"

Wait, she didn't know Mordin was leaving, too? But I thought he was telling… Wait, I think he only told Daniel. Well fuck, now I dropped a second whammy on her. This isn't turning out the way I had hoped.

"Mordin developed a cure, and Jenny got it into the environmental system. The cure is spreading throughout the district as we speak. And he left Daniel in charge, though don't be surprised if you get some extra responsibilities."

"Damn..." she mutters, looking at the ground. The she looks back up at me. "Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah, we have something that needs taking care of immediately," I say, nodding. We're both silent for a few moments, not really sure what to say. Finally, I take a step closer to her. "Violet, I really do wish we didn't have to say bye like this, but... well..."

Before I can say anymore, she closes the remaining distance between us and wraps me in a hug.

"This sucks," she says into my shoulder, and I can hear her starting to tear up. "Be safe, ok? I know you won't promise it, but just do it. And drop me a line every now and then."

I gently kiss the top of her head before breaking the hug and stepping back. "I promise, Vi," I say, hoping that I'll be able to keep it. "On both accounts. Now I need to go, but when I get on the Normandy, I'll send you a message. Promise."

She looks up at me with a big smile, and her eyes are glistening with unshed tears. "Deal." She stops to wipe at her eyes. "Now go be a big goddamn hero." Before I can react, she moves forward again and kisses me on the cheek. "Bye, Dylan."

"Goodbye, Violet."

**A/N: And there we go, folks! Jenny's back and Dylan's on the squad! Also some other things. I've gotta say, it's been a while since I wrote extended combat scenes. It felt good, and it was pretty easy to get back into the groove of writing them. Hopefully the quality is still the same. Actually, I _hope_ it's better, but you know what I mean. **

**So yeah, the next chapter is setting up to be a doozy. Who knows how Dylan telling Jenny about Archangel will affect the overall mission? I know I don't. But hey, half the fun is not knowing what comes next!**

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for this chapter. Till next time, ta ta!**


	6. Saving Friends

**A/N: Howdy, folks! Sorry for the delay, but I've had a busy past few days, including _finally_ graduating high school. Couldn't come soon enough if you ask me.**

**But I know you guys and gals don't want to hear about my boring real life. You want to read the chapter! So here it is. Enjoy!**

**Saving Friends**

Outside the clinic, I see that the others didn't wait up for me. Well gee, thanks guys. You can't even let a guy say goodbye. I just sigh and catch up to them.

"So what got your panties in such a bunch, Shepard?" I hear Zaeed ask as I'm catching up. Oh Zaeed…I almost forgot how blunt you could be.

"Weren't you listening back in the clinic?" she asks, giving him a sharp look. He shakes his head.

"Nah, too busy thinking about how much whoring I could do with these Cerberus credits." I somehow manage to repress a chuckle as I finally join the group, inserting myself between Jenny and Mordin.

"Just don't bring them on the Normandy, and you can get as many as your face'll let you." Oh snap!

"My question still stands," Zaeed says, choosing to ignore that awesome burn that Jenny had. "Why the hell did we leave that guddamned clinic so fast?"

"Dylan just informed me that Archangel and Deadpool are members of my old squad," Jenny says. "And apparently they're in danger, too. So we need to move fast if we want to recruit them and—more importantly—keep them alive."

"Archangel and Deadpool?" Mordin asks, turning to look at me. "You knew their identities? Didn't inform me?"

"Wasn't aware you wanted to know, Mordin," I say, giving him a sly grin. "Besides, you of all people should understand the need to keep secrets." Over the course of working with Mordin, the only thing he's told me about his past is that he was a part of STG. That's it. I know he's holding the whole truth—a lie of omission as he calls it—and I think I would be able to tell even without the foreknowledge. I'm also pretty sure that he knows that I know that he hasn't told me the whole truth. So I like to make these little jabs at him every once in a while. He's still looking at me, but his eyes have narrowed slightly and he has a smile on his face.

"Touché."

"So wait, we're planning to save Archangel and his buddy?" Zaeed asks, actually sounding surprised. Jenny just nods. "S'what I thought you said. Always wanted to meet those bastards. Anyone who can piss off the big three and hold 'em all off at the same time is alright in my book."

"Zaeed, I think we agree for once," Jenny says, making me chuckle. It doesn't surprise me that Zaeed gets on her nerves; crude humor has never been Jenny's thing. "Even if they weren't part of my old squad, I'd want someone like that on my team."

A silence falls over us as we keep walking. You know, this feels right: walking next to Jenny on the way to another mission. Even though it's two years later and the people around us are different, the fact that she's back makes everything feel like it can only end in success. Now, I know full well that _nothing_ I do happens without a hitch, but…there's just that feeling that nothing bad can happen anymore. In the two years, I never knew what the next day would bring. After over a month on the Normandy, knowing (for the most part) what each mission would bring, I got used to the feeling. I sort of felt lost while Jenny was gone, but now, I feel like I have a purpose again. I know what the future will (or at least _should_) bring, and that alleviates my worst fear: fear of the unknown. I guess Lovecraft was right.

We're just leaving the district as Jenny seems to think of something.

"Dang it, I almost forgot to tell Miranda about the change in plans," she says.

"Just out of curiosity, what _is_ the plan?" I ask. I mean, I'm assuming that we're headed to Afterlife to talk to Aria, but hey, you never know.

"We need a way to actually get to Garrus and Ian. From what you made it sound like, the mercs have them cornered." She pauses and grimaces. "The only thing I can think of is to ask Aria. Unless…" She trails off and looks at me.

"You think I would know a way to get there?" I ask, reading her look.

"You _have_ been here for a while," she says. "If not, that's fine. But I think talking to the Queen of Omega would waste time that we might not have."

Damn, she makes a decent point. Well let's see. I never really left the district that much; never had much reason to. And I certainly don't know much of anything about the merc groups for obvious reasons. Though…I do know someone who does.

"I think I know a guy who can help us."

"Great, then let's go find him."

"I, uh, don't know where to find him," I say with a sheepish look, "but I do have his number. So I'll call him right now." Jenny just nods.

Alright, I bring up my omni-tool and go into my contact list. Seeing as I don't really have many people on here, it doesn't take long to find his name. It rings a few times before finally being answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ronon? It's Dylan. You got a minute?"

"Dylan?" he asks, sounding surprised to hear from me. Guess I can't really blame him, seeing as this is the first time I've called him. "What's wrong? Is the clinic in danger?" Wow, leave it to him to jump straight to that.

"Calm down, Ronon, the clinic's fine," I say. "I just need to ask you about something."

"Then ask."

"Remember how you mentioned the merc groups preparing for something?" He just grunts, so I'm gonna take that as a yes. "Well I know what they're preparing for now."

"They're attacking Archangel," he says like it's something everyone knows.

"Wait, when did you figure that out?"

"When I infiltrated their base."

…

"What?"

"I infiltrated the base they've set up in Kima district," he says slowly as if he's explaining it to a child. "It wasn't hard to find them, so I posed as a freelancer and walked right in. Once I figured out what they were doing, I left."

"So it's as easy as that?" I ask, unable to imagine that the mercs would just let you walk in.

"Easy as that. Now if you don't mind me asking, why are you suddenly interested in Archangel?" Damn it, he would ask that, wouldn't he? Now I'm gonna have to explain that Mordin and I have left the clinic. I just hope it's not as bad as telling Vi.

"To make a long story short, Commander Shepard is alive again, and Mordin and I have joined her team," I say, deciding that Ronon, of all people, can handle bluntness. "Now we need to save Archangel and Deadpool so they can also join the team."

"Wait, you _and_ Mordin have left the clinic?" he asks. Really? That's the part he questions? Not the fact that Jenny is somehow back from the dead, no. But Mordin and I leaving the clinic? Inconceivable!

"Yeah. Mordin left Daniel in charge."

"And Violet?"

"She's still there. I'm guessing she's gonna get some new responsibilities now."

"Agreed," he says, sounding pleased. "Then with you two gone, I should probably get back there. Good luck, Dylan."

"Thanks, Ronon. Keep her safe."

"I will." And with a click, the line goes dead. Well, that turned out pretty well. Also easier than expected.

"So all we need to do is go to the merc base and say we're freelancers?" Jenny asks.

"Those guddamned idiots must be pissing their pants pretty bad if they're taking freelancers off the street," Zaeed says, basically voicing what we all must be thinking.

"Suggests need for disposable units," Mordin says, throwing in his two cents. "Will most likely be used as distraction or, worse, cannon-fodder. Suggest caution."

"Well it's our only option right now," Jenny says. Then she puts a finger to her ear and tabs the radio. Wait, that reminds me of something. "Miranda, change of plans. Meet us outside of Afterlife, and we'll tell you on the way to the objective."

"Yes, Commander," I hear her say. "I'm on my way." Jenny puts her hand down, deactivating her radio.

"Hey Jenny, before we start this mission, think you could tell me your radio frequency?" I ask.

"I'm sorry! I keep thinking that we were on a mission together only a few weeks ago." She pauses and looks down at the floor. "I forget that it's been two years for everyone else…"

My legs move before my brain even has time to think about what she just said. I'm suddenly standing in front of her with a hand on her shoulder. Before I can say anything, though, Mordin speaks up.

"Still find process fascinating. Curious how Cerberus could reanimate—"

"Mordin!" I say, cutting him off. Almost as soon as he started talking, I saw Jenny's eyes close and her breathing got faster. "Do you really think this is a good time for that?" Mordin blinks at my sudden interruption then seems to notice the effect his words had on Jenny.

"Apologies, Commander. Hadn't considered possible psychological—"

"It's fine, Mordin," Jenny says, taking a deep breath and looking up again. "Let's just drop it, ok?" Mordin simply nods, probably not trusting himself to speak anymore. "Alright. Now if we're done here, we need to get to Afterlife to meet Miranda."

The three of us nod and follow her as she starts walking again. No one says anything on the way there, but I'm ok with that. I'm still thinking about Jenny's little BSOD back there. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She did experience death, in all its horrible finality, only to be wrenched back into the world of the living. It's just that in the game, Shepard just seems to shrug it off. He or she wakes up at Project Lazarus and gets right on going like nothing happened. I guess I should be happy that she's processing emotions like a human should, but at the same time, Commander Shepard was always supposed to be this unwavering rock amidst a sea of chaos, but she's also human. That she's showing some vulnerability is both encouraging and…slightly worrisome. I need to stop thinking about it, though, because we're here, and Miranda is waiting for us.

"So what is this change in plans, Commander?" she asks as we approach.

"Dylan informed me that Archangel and Deadpool are in trouble," Jenny says, stopping in front of the operative. "If we want to recruit them, we need to save them first."

"Really?" She gives me a skeptical look. "And how did our newest recruit gather this information."

"Believe I can shed light on situation," Mordin suddenly says. Huh. I was fully prepared to deal with it, but hey, if he wants to take care of it, far be it from me to deny him. "Have employee who gathers information. Reported increased mercenary activity in Kima district. Was too concerned about plague at time, but Dylan was able to discover true implications."

"Alright," Miranda says after a few seconds of consideration. "Then it would appear that we should be on our way."

"Agreed," Jenny says, nodding. Then she turns to me. "Can you drive an aircar to the Kima district?"

"Haven't had much need to, but I know the way," I say. "We can take that one." I point to a larger aircar a few yards away.

"Unless that's your aircar, isn't that stealing?" Oh Jenny, if only you knew just how shitty Omega could be. I should explain.

"Jenny, here on Omega, all means of transportation are considered public. And by that, I mean that if you need ride somewhere, you can take whichever aircar you'd like. No one _actually_ owns a car on Omega. They're more…communal. So right now, we need a larger one to fit us all and there's a perfectly fine aircar right there."

"Fine," she says after a few moments of silence. "But for the record, I'm not totally ok with this."

"Your concern is noted," I say, walking to the aircar and getting in the driver's seat. "But right now, speed is probably a good thing, and we don't have time to waste trying to walk there."

"So what's the plan, Shepard?" Zaeed asks once we're all in the car and I've taken off. You know, it was surprisingly easy to learn to drive these things. No complaints from me. "Leave a path of destruction all the way to Archangel?"

"As much as I know you would love that, Zaeed, I don't think the five of us can take on the big three alone."

"But they're pissing their pants over two guddamned people!"

"And those two people are now trapped," Jenny says, dropping the slight joking attitude she previously had. "From what Dylan's contact said, we'll be able to pose as freelancers once we reach the merc base. Since we don't really know the situation there, we'll have to play that one by ear. It sounds like infiltration will be our best bet."

"I doubt any of the real mercenaries would pay attention to those they consider beneath them," Miranda says from the back seat. "If that's the case, there might be opportunities to sabotage their equipment."

"The possibility's there, but we're not taking any unnecessary risks until we reach Archangel and Deadpool. After that, all bets are off."

"So it sounds like we don't really have a plan," I say, passing some slow-ass at the same time.

"A lot of it depends on what the mercs are up to," Jenny says. "The easiest thing to do is simply use their own plan against them, and to do that, we need to _know_ their plan."

"Well we shouldn't have to wait too long, seeing as we're here." I gently land the aircar and power it down. Ronon sure wasn't kidding when he said the base was easy to find. Once inside the district, it was plain to see where the base was.

Anywho, the five of us get out of the car to find a batarian in Blue Suns armor walking towards us.

"Finally we get some freelancers that don't look like idiots," he says, coming to a stop in front of us. "Has anyone told you the situation?"

"We only know that this is where we can find Archangel," Jenny says.

"Well you'll certainly find him here, alright. He's holed up in a building at the end of the street. Only way there is a wide open bridge, and he and his buddy Deadpool have a sniper perch overlooking it. The place is a killing field. We'll get them soon enough, though. They can't keep it up forever."

Jenny crosses her arms and gives the merc a skeptical look. "I hope you have a better plan than just waiting them out."

"Oh we have a plan alright," he says. "You freelancers are gonna form a distraction team and attack across that bridge, allowing the infiltration team to sneak around the back."

A thick silence descends over us as we process what he just said. Even though I knew that's what the plan was, hearing it in person makes it sound even more idiotic. Charging across an open bridge with two highly trained snipers waiting on the other side? If it weren't Ian and Garrus, I'd say fuck that. But Ian should know that we're coming even if he hasn't told Garrus—though I'd be shocked if he hadn't told Garrus by now.

"That's a guddamn suicide mission!" Zaeed finally says, breaking the silence.

"Pretty much," the batarian says with a shrug. "But you look like you can handle it. Now head up to the third barricade and find Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go."

"Then I guess we should go," Jenny says.

"Just watch yourself on the boulevard. Archangel and Deadpool have a straight shot down it, and they've already killed a few dozen." And with that, he walks off to the side, presumably to wait for more freelancers to show up. The five of us walk towards the street leading to the bridge and find a private corner to think of a plan.

"I guess we found our way _to_ them," I say once we're alone. "Getting out will probably be another story entirely."

"We can worry about that once we make sure Archangel and Deadpool are safe," Jenny says. "But I do agree that it will be difficult." She pauses, and a thoughtful expression crosses her face. Then she looks over at Miranda. "I'm thinking that your sabotage idea would be beneficial in the long run."

"Agreed, Commander," she says. "Anything that can help us get back out. I would also suggest splitting up, allowing us to damage as much equipment as possible."

"Good idea. You, Mordin, and I will head down the left, and Dylan and Zaeed can take the right." Really? She's putting me with Zaeed? Well, it could be worse, I guess. Could be Miranda. "Meet at the third barricade in twenty minutes."

"Can do, Jenny," I say. "Good luck." She nods and the three of them cross to the left side, using the first barricade as cover. That just leaves Zaeed and me standing here on the right.

"Always get stuck with the guddamn rookies," Zaeed mutters just loud enough for me to hear.

"Who are you calling a rookie?"

"The kid who wasn't alive yet when I started working this galaxy."

…

Well damn. There's not much—if anything—that I can say to that. "Alright, you have a point," I say, conceding to him. "But I'm not an incompetent. I served with Jenny before."

He narrows his eyes at me, giving me a critical look. "Fine, I'll give you that. Still a rookie, though. Now come on; we have shit to blow up." He just walks through a door, not bothering to see if I'm following. I quickly catch up and walk next to him through the hallway running parallel to the boulevard.

We know that any door on the left will put us out on the street, so we ignore them. The first door on the right opens into what appears to be an armory.

"Jackpot," Zaeed says, walking into the room. I follow him in, and we start examining the contents of the quite extensive armory. Seriously, three of the four walls are just covered in guns. The fourth has entire crates full of thermal clips and ammo blocks. "Take what you want, kid. We're destroying the rest."

"Don't you think they'd notice if their entire armory suddenly got destroyed?" I ask, giving him a doubtful look. "I think I have a better idea. Find what you want, and I'll take care of the rest."

"This better be good kid," he says, starting to look through the huge stockpile.

I don't bother to answer, focusing instead on looking for some new toys. One wall is entirely SMGs and shotguns, neither of which I have any use for, so I skip over that one. The next wall has pistols and sniper rifles. Again, I don't use snipers, but I do take some time to look over the pistols. I know I have my trusty Carnifex, but you never know when you'll find something new. The Predator is too weak for my tastes, even if it does have a higher fire rate. I take a moment to inspect a Phalanx, but the balance doesn't feel right.

None of the other pistols seem to be better than my Carnifex, so I move on to the final weapon wall: the assault rifles. As I turn to survey the weapons hanging there, my eyes fall on a single one.

Could this day get any better?

Slowly, almost reverently, I walk up and remove a Mattock from the wall. I hold it in my hands, inspecting it, hoping that I won't find some sort of glaring defect. It passes a visual inspection, so I shoulder the rifle, aiming down the sights, trying to get a feel for the gun. With the exception of a few minor things, it feels just like my old one.

"A Mattock?" Zaeed asks from behind me. Holy crap when did he get there? I didn't even hear him move. I turn around to see him giving me an odd look. "I worked with a guy who used that gun. He could take a fly's wings off from 200 yards with the iron sights. Too bad for him he couldn't hit that sniper 1,000 yards out. Poor bastard took one right between the eyes."

"As fascinating as that is, Zaeed, are you finished looting?" I ask.

"Yeah sure. So what'd you have in mind for the rest of this shit?"

"Learned a trick at the clinic," I say, opening my omni-tool. "Apparently there's a frequency for every gun that rattles the heat sink a bit. Play it loud enough and the heat sink can get loose…disconnected, even." I open a program that lets me play specific frequencies and pick the right one. Then I look back up at Zaeed. The old bastard's actually grinning. "Heat sink's not connected, gun doesn't fire. Best part is, only way to detect it is to run a full diagnostic, and I'm pretty sure these mercs don't do that."

"You sneaky bastard. But how do we keep it from fucking up our guns?" Good point, good point. But that's easy.

"Just leave the room. If you take my guns, I'll make sure none of these guns work." He nods and accepts my Carnifex and Mattock then walks out of the room. I wait a few seconds then press play on my omni-tool. Over the course of a minute, it plays a range of frequencies that should cover every gun in here. Once that's done, I walk out and meet up with Zaeed, who's standing a few feet down the hallway.

"Nice job, kid," he says, handing my weapons back. After I get them in the right places, he suddenly grabs my hand and places two small chips in my open palm. "And those are yours. Thought you could have some fun with incendiary ammo."

Wait…Zaeed got me a gift? This is…unexpected. I didn't know the old bastard knew how to be nice at all, let alone to me, personally. I look down at the chips in my hand then back up at Zaeed.

"Thank you, Zaeed. I'll be sure to kill some bitches with these."

"You better, kid. I ain't saving you from the ones you miss." He looks down at his omni-tool. "We've still got ten minutes to find something else to fuck up around here."

"Then let's keep looking," I say, opening the next door on the right. That one's empty, but the last room along the hallway yields something else.

As soon as the door opens, my ears are assaulted by loud yelping. Looking into the room, I see about a dozen varren in cages, all snarling at me.

"Well that's interesting," I say to myself. Then I look at Zaeed, who's peering in over my shoulder. "You have anything to deal with these beasts?"

"I've got something, yeah," he says. Then he reaches down to his boot and draws a knife that rivals my own. "Nice and quiet."

"Uhh…you don't have anything nonlethal? Gas grenades or something?"

"Nope. If you want to do something about them, this is the only option."

"Fine," I say after a few moments of consideration. "But I'm not totally ok with this."

"Quit your bitching and start slitting," he says, walking to the nearest cage.

We exit the room five minutes later.

"Alright, let's get to the third barricade," I say, not wanting to spend any more time around that room. Zaeed just nods and we walk away. It isn't hard to find the meeting place, and Jenny and the others show up almost right after we do. Once we're all regrouped, we go over to where Cathka is working on the gunship.

"Sergeant Cathka?" Jenny says to get his attention. He stops his futzing with the gunship and comes to stand in front of us.

"Ah good, you're here. Salkie said I'd be getting a group that actually looked competent. You're just in time."

"I'm guessing Salkie is the one who met us?"

"Yeah, and I can see why he gave you five special mention. Anyway, the infiltration team is just about to give the signal. Archangel and Deadpool won't know what hit them." He pauses and walks over to a console connected to the gunship. He checks a few things on it then lights up a smoke. "You got any questions? Probably your last chance."

"Are you part of the attack?" Jenny asks. That draws a laugh from Cathka.

"Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and make sure the damn gunship is ready to fly. You freelancers get to have fun getting—"

"Target is in sight," a voice says through the console. "We are a go."

"Check. Bravo team: go, go, go!" All the freelancers waiting at the barricade start advancing across the bridge, and Cathka turns back towards the gunship. "Well, that means no more waiting for me. Got to finish calibrating the weapons before Tarak decides—"

Whatever he was going to say is interrupted by his screams as Jenny stabs him in the back with that electric torch thing. His body spasms like crazy before it finally just collapses in a heap on the floor.

"Very good." Mordin says. "Will be beneficial if gunship is not in full working order."

"I have a slightly better idea," I say. It may not be the best idea to try to change canon, but I'll make an exception in this case. I look over at Zaeed. "How many explosive charges do you have on you?"

"Three of decent size and a few smaller ones here and there," he says without seeming to think. He's also grinning again. "I'll get right on it." He walks toward the gunship and starts pulling explosives out of various pouches in his armor. One goes on each wing right next to the thruster and one goes right under the cockpit.

"Great idea, Dylan," Jenny says. She looks at Zaeed as he finishes placing the explosives. "Wait until my order to blow it. We want to be sure Tarak is in there first."

"I like the way you think, Shepard. Now let's go be big guddamn heroes."

"Wait until we're actually in the building before we let the mercs know which side we're really on," she orders. "Everyone ready?" We nod. "Then let's go."

The five of us cross the barricade and find ourselves on the bridge. The freelancers are trying to use what little cover there is on this bridge, but there are just too many of them and too little cover. As soon as we land on the other side of the barricade, I see a flash of blue armor in the second story window, and one of the mercs falls dead. I hear the gunshot a moment later. Another one tries to make a break for it, but this time I catch a glimpse of slightly smaller silver armor. Same results. Good to see neither of them has lost his edge.

A few mercs managed to reach the building, but the only ones still on the bridge are dead. The five of us sprint across the bridge, thinking that the two up there will be shooting at _us_, too, and I do actually feel a shot impact my shields. I'm also pretty sure I saw a silver flash before the shot. I shouldn't be surprised.

We reach the house to find that four of the freelancers have made it across. The four of them quickly make their way up the stairs leading to Archangel and Deadpool. Just like the game, there's that narrow hallway ending in a locked door. One of them is cutting through it while the others stand at the ready. Too bad they're facing the wrong way.

A crack from Jenny's rifle and the explosion of a head alert the freelancers to the truth. I pick a target and send three shots from my Mattock downrange. Damn it feels good to shoot this gun again. The recoil against my shoulder has a familiar feel to it, adding to the sense of everything becoming normal again. Unfortunately, all three shots miss just left.

Dafuq? I take two more shots, but I aim slightly to the right this time. Sure enough, both shots hit the merc in the chest, and he falls over, dead. Well, I guess it would have been _too_ perfect if the sights had been the same. Hopefully I'll have time to fix that before the next firefight.

In seconds, the four mercs are dead. The door turns green and the five of us walk in. Ian—or should I say, Deadpool—is standing in front of the door in full armor. Looks like he kept his old set: the blood dragon with the cool retracting helmet. He has a finger in front of his helmet where his lips would be, telling us to be quiet. The reason becomes apparent when we hear a final gunshot from Archangel taking out a final merc still on the bridge. With his target killed, Archangel comes to stand next to Deadpool, putting an arm around his shoulders. Jenny breaks the silence before either of them can speak.

"Glad to see you two haven't lost your aim. It's nice to see you, Garrus. You too, Ian."

**A/N: And there's chapter six! Honestly...I'm surprised I got that much out of the lead-up to the mission. But I'm certainly not complaining, and I'm sure none of you are, either. I guess I really had fun writing all this dialogue, especially Zaeed. That old bastard is just so much fun to write, and I know quite a few of you seem to really like him.**

**On a totally separate note, FF. net has changed its look. Whether for good or ill, authors can now post cover pictures to go with their stories. Now if only I had some nice WttF artwork to use as covers. But alas, my artistic skills are inversely proportional to my writing skills. (I suck at art.) So here's my offer: any of my readers who creates a piece of WttF fanart out of the kindness of his or her heart (read: for free) will receive my undying gratitude and a special surprise. Just shoot me a PM if you want to take me up on this amazing offer.**

**Alright, enough of me begging for free fanart. Because my school year is now over and I have a few weeks before work really starts, I should have plenty of time for writing. Seeing as we're finally getting to the good stuff, I'm sure all of you are just fine with that. I'm hoping to get chapters out on a weekly basis, but no promises.**

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for this chapter, folks. Till next time, ta ta!**


	7. Just Like Old Times

**A/N: Alrighty, folks! I'm back with chapter 7! Sorry for the delay. I don't even have the decency of a good excuse this time. But hey, at least it's done now! So without further ado, enjoy!**

**Just Like Old Times**

There's a long silence after Jenny greets Ian and Garrus. If they weren't wearing helmets, I'm pretty sure we'd see Ian's jaw drop slightly and Garrus' mandibles widen a bit. I'm also certain that Jenny has a big old grin right now, same as me.

"Shepard…I thought you were dead," Garrus says, breaking the silence.

"And how did you know it was us?" Ian asks.

"Garrus, it's a long story," Jenny says with a sigh. "And a little bird told me, Ian."

"A little…?" Then he seems to remember that I'm there. "You told her?"

"Hey, before I told her, she was ready to go back to the Normandy and get you two tomorrow," I say, grinning behind my mask. "So unless you wanted to face the mercenary horde for another day, you should be thanking me."

"And speaking of a merc horde, how did you two end up in this mess?" Jenny asks. They share a quick look before turning back to us.

"That's…also a long story," Garrus says. "Suffice it to say, it could have been avoided, but circumstances conspired against us." Uh oh…that doesn't sound very good. I have a very bad feeling about this. "Once we get out of this mess, I'll tell you the whole story."

"Then why don't we get out of this mess," Jenny says with a grin. "Any ideas?"

"Aren't you the ones rescuing us?" Ian asks. "Shouldn't you be the one with the plan?"

"We had a fun enough time _getting_ here," I say. "And we did leave the mercs a few nasty surprises."

"Such as?"

"Zaeed and I sabotaged their entire armory, meaning they don't have any extra weapons. We also, uh, took care of their attack varren."

"We also hacked their YMIR mech," Jenny says. "Scrambled its IFF."

"And let's not forget the big, fucking bomb we put on that gunship," Zaeed says with a wicked smile.

"Wait, you managed to get explosives on that thing?" Ian asks, turning to look at me. "We saw them bring that in, and we definitely weren't looking forward to fighting it."

"So it sounds like we just have the mercs themselves to face," Garrus says, almost musing to himself. "The two of us have been able to hold them off for almost a day by ourselves. With the five of you, I think we could easily just wait them out. And if the opportunity arises for us to escape, we can take it."

"I like the way you think, Garrus," Jenny says. Then she turns around to look at Miranda, Mordin, Zaeed, and me. "Miranda, Mordin, and Zaeed, you three head back downstairs. Make sure that if anyone gets across the bridge, none of them get into the house." The three of them nod and head back downstairs. Jenny turns to me. "The two of us will stay up here and help lay down fire on the bridge."

"Even more like old times," I say, smiling to myself. "Still no geth, though."

"It's good to see neither of you have changed," Garrus says, shaking his head. "Now if you two are done, we should probably see what the mercs are up to."

"While you two do that, I need to work out the sights on this Mattock. Trust a merc to let this gun become inaccurate." Garrus and Jenny nod and walk over to the balcony overlooking the bridge. I head off to the side so I can work on this thing in peace.

"Lemme help you with that, mate. I remember those sights always giving you trouble," Ian says, coming to stand next to me. When he leans in closer, his voice drops to a whisper. "So you really put explosives on that gunship?"

"Technically Zaeed did, but it was my idea," I say, futzing with the sights. "I figured you're trying to keep Garrus on a rocket-free diet."

He stays silent for a few moments before giving me a pat on the back. "Thank you. It'll be nice for something to go right." There it is again: another reference to something going wrong. Don't tell me…

"Ian, what happened?"

Again, he's silent for a while. When he speaks up, I have to strain to hear him because he speaks so quietly. "I…I fucked up, Dylan. When we get out of here, I'll tell you the whole story."

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, _damn it_! Fuck, I was afraid this would happen. I just… Fuck, I can't think about this now. We need to focus on getting out of here.

"Alright, but like you said, let's get out of here first," I say. Then I go back to my normal voice. "Thanks for the help, Ian. Those mercs couldn't calibrate a rock."

"Anytime, Dylan," he says, also speaking normally again. Then he walks up next to Garrus, taking his sniper off his back. I go to the other side, next to Jenny. "So what's the situation?"

"It looks like they're up to something back there, but I'm not sure what," Garrus says, looking through his scope. Suddenly a sniper rifle goes off right next to me, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Well whatever they're up to, they're down a man," Jenny says, taking her eye away from the scope with a satisfied look.

"Glad to see being dead hasn't hurt your aim." Jenny stiffens just a fraction at the mention of her death. Well that settles it; I need to talk to her about that. It's obviously affecting her something awful. Before I can think on the matter any further, though, the mercs decided to make their move.

A large group of LOKI mechs hop across the barrier at the end of the bridge. Three of them lose their heads within seconds, and I start shooting at one advancing up the left side. I take a quick test shot to check the sights. It hits the mech, but it was a little higher than I was aiming. Oh well, at least it's good horizontally. I can work out the rest of the bugs when we're not on a mission. Now that I know that my sights are good enough, I send three more shots into the robot's chest, fucking up its circuitry enough to "kill" it.

By the time I kill my first mech, three others are also headless, leaving only three alive. I take one of them out with a few shots, and the group downstairs actually takes care of the last two. One suddenly erupts in a flurry of sparks, sending it to the ground in a fit of spasms. The other is lit on fire. Once the last one is dead, there's a small lull. I'm pretty sure that actual mercs come next, but I honestly can't remember. And even if I could remember, there's no guarantee that things will happen like the game.

"Were those mechs close enough to geth for you, Dylan?" Jenny asks, shooting me a grin.

"Eh, I guess," I say with a shrug. "Ian and Garrus make it seem better, though."

"So glad we can help satisfy your need for nostalgia," Ian says sardonically. "But I'll admit, it's nice to hear a Mattock again." There's a pause, and for some reason, I find myself waiting for something sarcastic. When nothing comes, I look over at Ian.

"No sarcastic comment after that? I'm surprised."

"Hey, believe it or not, I'm actually glad to see you again. Guess there's a first for everything." Ah, there it is. Good to see he still makes jokes even during a firefight. And speaking of firefight, it looks like the actual mercs are starting to come across. I guess my retort will have to wait.

Just like the mechs, the first three mercs on the bridge quickly obtain a fresh hole in the head, courtesy of the three best snipers in the galaxy. It's not hard to see how Ian and Garrus were able to keep the mercs at bay by themselves. I could probably just sit back and let the three of them deal with everything, but where would the fun be in that? After a year and a half on Omega, I'm actually looking forward to giving the mercs a little ass kicking. With that in mind, I take a few shots at a salarian Eclipse merc. I manage to take his shields down, but someone from the other group lands the killing shot. With him down, I focus on an asari, overloading her shields and hitting her with a few Mattock shots. I'm not sure if she's dead, but I know she's out of the fight.

The rest of the wave proceeds in a similar manner. Jenny, Ian, and Garrus snipe mercs like crazy, I target whoever they don't, and the ground crew cleans up what's left. Honestly, with seven of us, it's not that difficult defending this position. After a few minutes, the mercs stop coming across the bridge. Just as we're about to take a break, though, a voice is projected across no-man's land.

"Let's see how you like _this_, Archangel!" And with that rather megalomaniacal proclamation, a previously unseen crane drops a YMIR mech on the bridge. It stands up, and right away, I can see that its eye is slightly different. As more Eclipse mercs cross the barricade to join in the assault, the YMIR mech turns around and starts raining havoc on the attacking mercs.

"Well, that should keep them busy for a while," Jenny says with a satisfied smirk. "I knew hacking that thing was a good idea."

"Well thank the spirits you did," Garrus says, relief clearly evident in his voice. "I could use a break."

"Same here," Ian says, putting a hand on Garrus' arm. "It's been a long day."

Jenny and I share a quick look, neither of us sure how—if at all—to respond to that. She gives a small shake of head, so we lapse into silence. Garrus has put his arm around Ian's shoulders, and Ian's resting his head on Garrus' shoulder. Who are we to intrude on that?

Below us, the sound of fighting continues. It's mostly screams as the mercs get slaughtered, but an occasional attempted command is heard. Sometimes the YMIR mech says something, but usually it's just screaming.

"Back across the bridge, lads! Back across the briiiiiiiiiii—"

"Target eliminated."

"So what kind of operations did you guys do?" Jenny asks, finally breaking the silence. "Must have been some good stuff to piss the mercs off this bad."

"Eh, we just did some generic stuff," Ian says, taking his head off Garrus' shoulder and shrugging. "Lots of killing and blowing shit up."

"He's simplifying it greatly, but it's basically true," Garrus says.

"Any missions that really stick out as being awesome?" I ask with genuine curiosity. Even though Ian and I kept up contacts during our time here, he never really shared what he was doing. I understand why he didn't, so I don't feel any sort of animosity for him staying quiet. But now that it's all over, I'm really curious to hear what sort of stuff they got into.

"Well…there was this one. Though I wouldn't call it 'awesome'. More freaky as hell. Have either of you heard of an Ardat-Yakshi?"

Wait, an ardat-yakshi? Why do I have a really bad feeling about this? Even though I know what they are, I shake my head. Jenny does the same.

"Well apparently there's this kind of genetic mutation thing that some asari can get," he says, beginning his tale. "Ardat-yakshis kill whoever they meld with. Something about overloading their nervous systems, I never really understood it. Anyway, there had been a long string of murders in one of the districts. I wouldn't have given it a second thought except every victim had the same marks on their bodies. Typical sign of a serial killer. I started to investigate even though _someone_ didn't think it was worth it." He stops and gives Garrus a look. If I could actually see his face, it would probably be a quite pointed look.

"Hey, we were sort of busy attacking Jaroth's eezo operation," Garrus says. "Besides, I thought you could handle it."

"Yeah, well at least you made up for it later." Then Ian focuses back on us, continuing the story. "The marks made me think of an ardat-yakshi, so I…well, I tried to find one."

"How do you go about finding one of these things?" Jenny asks.

"They're supposedly drawn to interesting people," he says. Ha, nice cover. Way to use what the game told you. "I went to the VIP section of Afterlife and acted as interesting as possible. Believe it or not, I was approached by an asari pretty quickly. I managed to determine that the killer wasn't her, but I think she was already starting to mess with my mind. She got me back to her place and was just about to meld with me when Garrus burst in and saved me."

"You had seemed a bit nervous when you left the house that day, and since we didn't have a raid planned, I followed you," Garrus says. "I'm glad I did."

"Not half as glad as me."

"So did you get a name from this asari?" I ask, even though I already have a guess.

"Morinth," he says with a slight nod at me. Well fucking hell. That might just throw a wrench into canon. I'll have to talk to him about that later when we're alone. I really hope he didn't somehow fuck up Samara's loyalty mission. But I guess—

"Self-destruct initiated."

"Well, it looks like our break is over," Jenny says, looking out over the bridge. Sure enough, the YMIR explodes, leaving the mercs a clear bridge to cross once again.

Well…I say clear, but we're still waiting at the other end. So really, they're still gonna die. The four of us up here open up on the advancing mercs, quickly falling back into the same pattern as before. After a few minutes of shooting baddies, Ian speaks up.

"Garrus, is that Jaroth crossing the bridge?" he asks incredulously. Garrus quickly looks at the salarian through his scope.

"Spirits, I think that is!" he says. In one smooth motion, he depresses the trigger of his sniper rifle. In a fraction of a second, a paint chip-sized piece of metal penetrates Jaroth's skull. As far as I can tell from up here, it looked like it went right through his eye. "Well, it _was_ Jaroth."

With the death of their leader, the few remaining Eclipse mercs break and run back to the base.

"Well I've gotta say, that was easier than expected," Ian says, stepping away from the balcony and sitting on a couch.

"It was. They barely touched us," Garrus says, sitting down next to him and putting an arm around Ian's shoulders. "And we managed to get Jaroth."

"Sounds like you two were after him for a while," Jenny says. She goes to lean against a wall across from the two of them, and I decide to stand next to her.

"Like I said, we spent a while taking out his eezo operation. After all the s'kak we did to him, it's no surprise he agreed to work with the other groups."

"And speaking of the other groups, we still have the Blood Pack and the Blue Suns left," I say. "Do we risk pushing across the bridge?"

"It looked like they were reinforcing the other side," Jenny says. "I gave it a look as the Eclipse were retreating."

"Yet they're not attacking," Ian points out. "Maybe they're waiting—"

A sudden explosion below us interrupts whatever Ian was gonna say next.

"Shepard, what the hell was that?" Miranda asks over the radio. Jenny gives Garrus a questioning look. He quickly opens his omni-tool and starts looking through various screens.

"They've breached the lower levels," he finally says. "Shepard, take your team and clear them out. Ian and I will keep the bridge clear."

"Garrus, I'm not leaving you two up here alone," Jenny says, her voice indicating that this isn't a suggestion. "Keep Dylan up here with you, and I'll take the others and secure the basement."

"There are enough people that splitting up shouldn't be a problem," Ian says.

"Fine," Garrus says. "Take your team and go down a level. The door to the basement is behind the stairs. There are three ways in, and each one can be sealed by a shutter. Get down there, close the shutters, and get back here."

"Can do, Garrus," Jenny says. Then she tabs her radio. "Miranda, grab the others and meet me at the stairs. We have to take care of some unwanted guests." And with that, she walks out of the room, leaving Garrus, Ian, and me up here alone.

"Well, mate, you know what's next," Ian says, standing up. "We should get ready for another wave."

"Yupp, good old Blood Pack," I say, setting up next to him on the balcony. Garrus is on his other side. "At least they won't have any varren."

"Thank fuck for that. I've heard they have all kinds of diseases. Getting bit by one is almost sure death unless you get it treated right away."

"Then I'm glad I thought ahead."

"So am I," Ian says. "Seriously, you have no idea how relieved I was to hear you put explosives on that gunship."

"If what you told me is true, nowhere near as relieved as I am," Garrus says, calming shooting the first of the Blood Pack troops to get on the bridge. "I can't say I was looking forward to a rocket to the face."

"I figured that keeping your face intact wouldn't be that big of a canon change," I say, smiling behind my mask. "Unlike some other things I could think of."

"Hey, that whole Morinth thing was not my fault," Ian says, felling a vorcha as I put shots into the one next to it. "I was only looking for an ardat-yakshi. What are the odds that it was her?"

"Seeing as most other ardat-yakshi are stuck in that monastery Samara talks about, odds seem pretty good."

"Still not my fault. And it's not like I killed her, or anything."

"Though I came close," Garrus says, reloading his sniper. "Canon be damned: I was saving you no matter what." Ian takes his eyes away from the scope and looks over at Garrus. He lays his hand on Garrus' arm and gives it a quick squeeze before returning to the task at hand.

"Well at least it didn't come to that," I say, mowing down more vorcha. These things are really nothing more than cannon fodder, seeing as they don't wear armor. And the regeneration isn't a problem if they don't have a head. "But I still reserve the right to make fun of you for falling for Morinth."

"Oh, like you haven't almost messed with canon since you've been here," Ian says.

"You're right, I haven't. At least no more than my presence alone messes with canon."

"Yet Shepard seems to be a bit earlier than expected."

"Hey, she was early for me, too," I say, slightly more defensive than I intended. "Mordin had literally just perfected the cure when she walked in. And again, I'm pretty sure you should be thanking me for showing up early. Before I told her it was you two stuck in this mess, she was ready to let you wait for a day while we got Mordin situated on the Normandy."

"I'm sure we would have been fine for a day," Garrus says blandly. "Remember that you're talking to Space Batman and Space Robin." I can't help but laugh. I always found that reference hilarious.

"So he finally told you what that meant. About time."

"The concept seemed fitting, even if the outfit looked ridiculous."

"C'mon, Garrus, you'd look great in tights," Ian says playfully. Times like these I'm glad I can turn my imagination off. I don't need to be picturing that right now.

Luckily, we're interrupted before I can linger with that thought or Ian can put more images into my head. Unfortunately, that interruption comes in the form of Garm and his personal guard stepping onto the bridge. And by personal guard, I mean five other really big krogan. Also some vorcha, but I'm not really worried about them.

"It's Garm! Worry about his troops and save him for last."

Yeah, well trying to kill five krogan before they cross the bridge might be a bit of a problem. It's not a terribly long bridge, and krogan can move surprisingly fast for their size. But I guess that doesn't give us any time to mess around.

Ian and Garrus both get headshots on two of the Blood Pack warriors, but they keep coming, undeterred. I, meanwhile, choose a different target and start unloading on him with my Mattock. It takes half the freaking magazine to break through his massive shields. The other half seems to have little effect on the hulking brute. I can see blood seeping from a few spots on his armor, meaning that I definitely hit him, but he's still going like nothing happened! I quickly pop in a new thermal clip and start pumping more rounds into the krogan. After five more shots, he sort of stumbles a bit, but he quickly gets back up. It takes the rest of my second magazine to finally bring the warrior down.

Holy fuck that was annoying! The bastard wouldn't die! In the time it took me to take out my target, Ian and Garrus killed their krogan and managed to get shots in on two more before the group entered the house.

"Jenny, you should probably hurry up right now!" I say into the radio as the three of us transition to a new position. Ian and Garrus refocus on the two remaining krogan guards while I start targeting the vorcha.

"On our way," Jenny says. "We just closed the last shutter, and we're heading back up."

"Well make it fast. There's a krogan here that doesn't seem keen to die anytime soon."

She doesn't answer back, but I'm sure she's quickening her pace. Meanwhile, I'm killing vorcha, Garrus is killing a krogan, and Ian is…

Where'd Ian go? I quickly look around to see him strapping a…a sword? He's strapping a _sword_ to his back? Where did that little bastard get a _sword_? Whatever, now's not the time to ask about it. I turn back towards the enemy and continue to reduce the number of vorcha. By now, we're down to Garm, one wounded krogan warrior, and four vorcha.

Ok, make that three vorcha. Unfortunately, they've now reached the staircase. Ian and I move to set up on either side of the door, and Garrus takes a position in cover straight back from it. Ian and I share a look. I nod, and he slams on the control, opening the door. Immediately, Garrus takes a shot, hitting the already-wounded krogan in the chest. Ian and I lean out of cover and start shooting the remaining vorcha. Quickly enough, it's down to just us and Garm.

Too bad he's right in front of the door.

"Fall back!" Garrus orders, taking one last shot before moving away from the door. He doesn't have to tell me twice!

"That's right, Archangel!" Garm yells, storming through the door. "Run like the coward you are!"

So now he's in the room with us. The only things separating us are a few couches and an end table. This might hurt a bit.

Without hesitation, the Blood Pack leader charges right at us. Well…mostly at Garrus, but he big enough to hit all three of us with one charge. I feel a few stray shots from his Claymore impact my shields. The fact that those few stray bullets almost depleted them is a scary thought. And of course, the entire time he's charging, we're filling with enough lead to set off metal detectors in the next system.

It doesn't even faze him. In the time it took for Garm to cross the room, I emptied an entire clip into him, Garrus gave him a sniper round to the chest, and Ian probably emptied both of his pistols.

Now that he's here, he swings his Claymore like its ancient namesake right at Garrus. He dives out of the way, and because Garm's swing is so large, Ian and I also have to dive away. I quickly get back to my feet and put in a fresh thermal clip in my Mattock. Garm is once again advancing on Garrus, who for some reason is slow to get back up. I quickly start shooting the krogan in the back, trying to get his attention. I can't believe I'm _willingly_ trying to get Garm to attack me, but he can't be allowed to get to Garrus.

With a growl, Garm turns around to face me. He gives a small scowl and raises his Claymore, aiming it right at me. Oh fuck.

I try to get out of the way, but it's no use. The shot takes me almost square in the chest, literally throwing me back across the room. I land in a heap on the ground and just lie there before a sudden pain in my chest makes me gasp. That's when I look down to see a few entry wounds scattered across my chest. It's a really good thing that I have good shields and they were at full strength. Otherwise, I would have a much more serious injury.

After what seems like an eternity, my armor's medical system kicks in, sending medigel to seal the wounds and numb the pain. As I'm slowly getting up off the ground, I hear Jenny and the others enter the room. Looking up, the first thing I notice is Miranda glowing blue and sending a warp at Garm. The biotic attack staggers the massive krogan and, more importantly, halts his ability to regenerate. Everyone takes advantage of his momentary staggering to just unload on his scaly ass. Now that he can't regen like a freak of nature, the bullets have a much bigger effect. Soon enough, he drops to the floor and stops moving.

In the stunned silence that follows, I finally manage to haul myself off the ground. The seven of us meet at the same couch as before and take a moment to examine the body—more specifically, how much damage it managed to take.

"Thanks for that, Shepard," Garrus finally says. "I wasn't sure we would be able to kill that freak."

"In all my years, I've never seen a krogan regen so guddamn fast," Zaeed says, almost sounding…in awe. Never thought I'd hear that tone from him.

"Garm's a freak of nature." He looks over at Miranda. "Quick thinking with that warp. It was the only thing that saved us." The Cerberus operative just nods in acknowledgement.

"Only Blue Suns remain," Mordin says, bringing us back to the situation at hand. "Could escape with little worry."

"I still want to blow up that fucking gunship," Zaeed says.

"I think I agree with Zaeed," Jenny says. "Why don't we wait till they bring the gunship after us, blow it up, and then make our exit? That way, we know it won't be a problem, and seeing their leader killed in a fiery explosion should demoralize the Suns."

"Sounds good to me," I say. The others offer similar words of agreement. Then, as if on cue, the telltale sound of a gunship can be heard nearby. Suddenly, the Mantis appears, hovering right outside the building and looking in at us.

"Archangel!" Tarak yells through the gunship's speakers.

"You want to blow this guy sky high, Zaeed?" Jenny asks out of the corner of her mouth.

"Thought you'd never fucking ask." He quickly opens his omni-tool and presses a single button.

After a split second's delay, a blinding light erupts from the gunship. A shockwave of sound hits us and almost sends me to the ground. A moment later, a wall of flame comes billowing towards us, frying everyone's shields and once again almost sending me to the ground.

As the light from the explosion dies away, I can see pieces of gunship falling to the ground. On the other side of the bridge, I can also see many Blue Suns running away.

Holy crap…we did it. We really did it! We managed to keep Garrus' face intact! Man, Ian's gonna be ecstatic once we get back to the ship.

_BANG!_


	8. Winner Takes All

**Winner Takes All**

In the stunned silence that follows, time seems to slow down. I look around to see Garrus falling to the ground with a large chunk of armor missing on his back. Blue blood is flowing freely from the vicious-looking wound. Ian's scream seems distant as I watch Garrus hit the ground. For some reason, my mind can't seem to comprehend what my eyes are telling it.

With time still seeming to move at a snail's pace, I look behind us to see Garm lying on his back, smoking Claymore in hand. He has a very smug, satisfied look. I suddenly have an overwhelming desire to wipe it off his ugly face.

Painfully.

Unfortunately, I don't get that chance.

"I'll kill you, you fucking bastard!" Ian yells. Time returns to its usual pace as Ian draws the sword on his back in one smooth motion and charges the injured krogan. His first thrust drives the point of the blade right under Garm's plate. As soon as the blade broke skin, Garm started screaming.

Ian's not done.

He keeps pushing, embedding the sword deeper and deeper into Garm's head. The krogan's screams get louder as the sword penetrates further. At one point, Ian seems to stop, but with a sudden burst of strength, he thrusts the sword out the back of Garm's head with the blade embedded all the way to the handle.

Then he twists the blade.

Somehow the screaming reaches a new level, drowning out all other sound in the room. Ian slowly pulls the blade out until only the first few inches remain in Garm's head. With a quick flick of the wrist, Garm's plate comes off and clatters to the ground next to the dying krogan.

A small part of my brain is telling me that I should be disgusted by this and that I should stop Garm's suffering, but it's overruled by the part that wants him to suffer. I have no idea where that part of my brain has been hiding, but at the moment, I don't care. All the while, that small portion is wondering how I reached this level. It's wondering what Omega has done to me.

Ian has stepped away from Garm as the krogan lies on the ground screaming. The British vigilante is now standing over the former Blood Pack leader, watching him scream. As the cries of pain start to lessen slightly, Garm weakly tries to punch Ian. There's almost no force behind it, and Ian quickly stomps his foot down on the krogan's arm.

For some reason, Garm's attempt at retaliation sends Ian off the deep end. He starts mercilessly slashing at Garm's chest and face, each swing leaving deep gashes in its wake. After nearly a dozen swings, Ian reverses his grip on the sword and starts stabbing down into Garm's body. While the stabs seem random in their placement, I'm guessing that each one is specifically targeting a major organ in the krogan's body. After about five or six stabs, Ian deals the finishing blow.

He stabs down right where Garm's plate used to be. The blade keeps traveling downwards until the hilt contacts flesh. There was the distinct sound of armor breaking and metal being cut.

Finally, Garm stops moving. Ian staggers back, collapsing into one of the couches, the blade still embedded in the krogan's head.

The whole thing took about a minute.

"Dylan! Need assistance!" Mordin says from behind me. Turning around, I see the salarian doctor kneeling next to Garrus's body. No! Not his body. He's kneeling next to _him_. He _has _to be alive! Ian seems to be thinking along the same lines.

"Garrus!" he yells, getting up from the couch. Before he can run to Garrus' side, though, Jenny stops him.

"Ian. Ian! Listen to me!" she says, trying to get his attention. He tries to escape her grasp, so she turns him around to face her. "Ian, listen to me! Mordin needs space to work, and he _doesn't_ need you hovering over him."

"But Garrus needs me!" Ian says, still trying to escape. Jenny tightens her grip.

"Garrus needs a _doctor_. And we have the best. Now you can calm down and cooperate while we wait for evac, or I'm going to have to restrain you." She pauses and looks him right in the eyes. "So what'll it be?" For a long moment, he holds her gaze. Then he suddenly goes limp in her arms.

"Dylan, still need assistance!" Mordin says, more pointedly this time.

"Right, coming," I say, going over to kneel opposite from him. I look down at Garrus, who's been placed on his stomach. In this position, the wound on his back is clear to see. It doesn't look pretty. "What's the situation?"

"Full Claymore shot to lower back. No shields due to explosion. Armor couldn't withstand blast. Numerous entry wounds, no exit wounds. Makes treatment…problematic."

Shit, that means all the bullets are still in his torso. That is _not_ a good place to have bullets stuck in you. Granted, _nowhere_ is a good place to have bullets in you, but you know what I mean.

"So what's the plan?" I ask, not really knowing where to start with all this.

"Not much we can do here," he says. "Need fully stocked medical bay or hospital. Already stopped bleeding with medigel, but will need to do surgery to remove bullets."

"So what do you need me to do?" I ask, thinking that Mordin's done everything he can right now.

"Need you to run scan, locate bullets embedded in torso while I stabilize condition."

"Can do." I activate my omni-tool and open up the medical scanner program I used at the clinic. I slowly move my arm over his lower back, letting the scanner do its job. Once it's done, I take a look at the data. It doesn't look very good, but I suppose it could be worse. Since this scanner is little more than a portable x-ray, I can't see soft tissue, but bones and bullets show up clear as day. And those bullets are clustered fairly close together. Unfortunately, I can't tell if any of them hit any major organ.

"I've got the scan," I say. I press a few more buttons on my omni-tool. "Sending it to your omni-tool now."

"Appreciated," he says, not looking up from his work. "Will prove useful when time comes to operate."

"He's not gonna make it that long," Zaeed says from somewhere behind me. There's a sudden commotion from where Ian was sitting earlier.

"Don't say that!" the Brit yells. "He _has_ to make it!"

"Listen, kid, that's not how it works. Your turian butt-buddy just took a point blank Claymore without any shields. I've seen the kind of damage that causes."

I hear a sharp inhale from Ian, presumably to give some sort of retort, but Jenny speaks up before he can.

"Zaeed, now's not the time for that," Jenny says sharply.

"What? I'm just speaking from experience here."

"Well keep your thoughts to yourself. Now _isn't_ the time." Zaeed starts to grumble, but doesn't push the matter further. "Garrus is gonna be fine, Ian," she says after a short pause. Ian doesn't say anything, but I can hear some sniffles going on under the helmet. I think he's in shock right now. If he's anything like I was after Virmire, he's not really in the right state of mind. It's probably best to leave him to himself for the moment. Once we're back on the Normandy, I'll try talking to him.

Mordin and I keep working over Garrus for the next few minutes as we wait for the evac shuttle. If I'm being honest right now, the things we're doing are mostly just for show. We've done all we can here on-site, but we need to make it look like we're doing _something_. If we suddenly stop, I think Ian would freak on us.

Finally, after what seems like forever, the shuttle arrives. Zaeed and I get Garrus on the shuttle, and the others pile in behind us. It's a little cramped, but that's mostly because everyone is giving Garrus a lot of room. Mordin and I continue watching over him the entire ride. Whoever is piloting this shuttle is really good. He's managing to keep it level while weaving in and out of traffic.

We get back to the Normandy in fairly short order, pulling into the shuttle bay a deck below engineering. The shuttle door opens, and Zaeed and I once again pick up Garrus. As we're walking out towards the elevator, Joker's voice comes over the comm.

"Elevator's on your floor and ready to go, Commander," he says. Man, I missed that cripple's voice. I'm gonna have to say hi once we're all settled in.

"Thanks, Joker," she says. Then she looks at Zaeed and I. "Med bay is on deck two. Same spot as the old Normandy."

"Got it," I say. "Mordin, you should come up at the same time. I'm sure Dr. Chakwas is gonna want your help."

"Agreed," he says, stepping in the elevator. Before he can close the door, though, Ian puts his foot in the door.

"I'm coming, too," Ian says. I just nod at him, knowing I'd say the same in his position. Then I nod at Mordin, and we start our trip up. Thankfully, the elevator isn't slow as fuck, and the door opens to deck two in short order. Zaeed and I step out first, doing our best to keep Garrus level without a stretcher. The door to the med bay opens, revealing Chakwas standing by the door, all scrubbed up and ready for surgery.

"Put him on here," she says, gesturing to an operating table. Then she looks at Mordin, who's walked in behind us. "Dr. Solus, I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but let's focus on saving Garrus' life."

"Agreed," Mordin says, quickly getting suited up for surgery. Meanwhile, Chakwas looks at Ian, Zaeed, and I.

"I'm going to have to ask you three to get out. Medical personnel only." The three of us walk out without saying a word, simply nodding. Even though I could technically be considered medical personnel, I wouldn't be much use in there. Besides, Garrus is in good hands with those two.

Ian and I go over and sit at a table in the mess hall. Zaeed went back towards the elevator, presumably to go to his hidey-hole in engineering. A moment later, I see Miranda walk into her office on the other side of the deck. Right after the door closes, Jenny walks up to us. It looks like she's about to say something, but then she looks at Ian and stops. I get up and walk over to her.

"I'll talk with him, Jenny," I whisper. "I think I know what he's going through right now." I pause, but I think of something before she can walk away. "Have you checked this area for Cerberus bugs?"

"I check every day," she says with a small smile. I'm so glad that she's good with tech. "You're clear to talk freely."

"Thanks. I don't think he'll want this conversation recorded."

"I understand. I'll let the crew know to stay off this deck for a while. It's the least I can do."

I just nod, almost at a loss for words. She's basically giving us this area for the next few hours. And since she's confirmed that there aren't any bugs, Ian and I can talk freely. Jenny smiles and walks away, leaving Ian and I alone. I walk back over and take a seat across from him. He's finally gotten around to retracting his helmet, and that reminds me to finally take my mask off.

For a few moments, I just look at Ian. Even though I saw him barely two months ago at Afterlife, he seems to have aged a great deal. There are deep lines on his face, making him look much older than he actually is. It's not very promising. The fact that he's just staring at the table with a far-off look doesn't help. He has that thousand-yard stare, proclaiming louder than words that his mind is either in another world or completely shut off. I don't think that either one of those is good.

Right as I'm about to say something, Miranda steps out of her room. I look over at her to see that she's looking right back at us. For a long moment, our gazes lock, neither one of us willing to look away. Finally, though, she just shakes her head and walks to the elevator. Once she's gone, I let out a small sigh of relief. I'd almost forgotten that she was in her room. It wouldn't have been good if she had walked out during our conversation. I'm sure as hell not ready for her to know our secret.

With that little exchange done, I look back at Ian. It doesn't look like he's moved. He probably didn't even notice Miranda leaving. That settles it; I need to talk to him.

"Ian?" I say, trying to get his attention. He doesn't look up, but I notice the barest hint of movement, so I press on. "You know he's gonna be ok, don't you? Plot armor, remember?"

"Shut up, Dylan."

My eyes widen in shock at his trite dismissal. I…wasn't expecting that. But ok, I remember being the same way after Ash died. I just need to keep trying. Maybe remind him that I know how all this feels…

"Whoa there, big guy. No need to be hostile. I know what you're going through, and I'm trying to make you feel better."

"No, you don't," he says quietly, still not looking up. "You have no idea what I've gone through in the last twenty four hours, Dylan. You lost one person. I've lost twelve. And the most important one could go any minute now."

Ok… I can't say I like his dismissal of how I felt after Virmire…but I suppose he has a point. And I _cannot_ get angry at him right now. I need to stay calm and be the voice of reason.

"You know what? You're right. I don't know how it feels to lose twelve friends," I say, ceding that point to him. "But I do know how it feels to lose the one you love. And at least the doctors can do something for Garrus. He's gonna make it, Ian. Mordin's fixed worse."

"He got shot in the back point blank with a Claymore," he says, finally looking up. His eyes are all red, and there are dried tears on his cheeks. "This isn't the games anymore, Dylan, it's real. People die. Garrus isn't invincible."

"I know this isn't the games, Ian. I've had just as much proof of that as you have." I try not to think about the shit that went wrong on Omega. "I'm so sure of this because I've been working with Mordin for over a year. Trust me when I say that he's good enough to save Garrus."

"Trust," he says with a derisive chuckle. "Right."

Wow, again, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. "Ian... It's me, Dylan. You know you can trust me."

He looks back down at the table, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "I want to. But the last person I made the mistake of trusting got everyone killed. I've not got a lot of faith left in me."

"Sidonis…" I say quietly.

"Yeah. Him."

"How?" I ask. "Didn't you warn Garrus."

That was exactly the wrong thing to say. Ian's head shoots up, and his eyes have a fury in them that I've never seen from him before.

"What do you think? Do you think I'd just let them die? I didn't even know if Sidonis was going to betray us, or when he would, so...so...when I told him, it was too late." He quickly looks back down at the table, but I saw the tears starting to well up. "Everyone's dead. Because of me. Having Garrus taken away is just karmic retribution."

"Fuck that, Ian," I say sharply. "There's no way in hell that this is your fault, any more than Ash dying was my fault. And how many times do I have to tell you that Mordin's too good to let Garrus die?"

"Then whose fault is it?" he asks, looking back up, voice verging on hysterics. "I could have stopped it, I _should_ have stopped it, and I failed! And you don't even know Mordin's good enough! What the fuck is the standard treatment for someone taking a full shotgun blast to the back?" It's plain to see the tears now.

I…I don't know what to say to that. For the longest time, I just sit there, unable to think of anything. Meanwhile, Ian has gone back to looking at the table, but I can clearly hear him crying quietly. Finally, I decide that words aren't the best thing right now. I get up from the table and sit next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. I let him cry for a bit before I finally think of something to say.

"I don't know whose fault it is, but it _isn't_ yours. And I've seen Mordin reattach entire limbs. He's the best doctor in the galaxy, and I _know_ he can do it."

"If he dies, I've got nothing left," he says, still crying. "I don't know what to do, Dylan."

"You're not gonna lose him, Ian," I say softly, trying to be as comforting as I can.

"I can't. I can't lose him."

"You're not gonna. You of all people should know that he's stronger than that."

For the longest while, he just sits there and continues to cry. At some point, he laid his head on my shoulder. For the moment, I think letting him cry is the best option. After a while, the crying seems to lessen a bit. Finally, he speaks up again.

"Yeah. He is," he says softly. He's still crying, but it's definitely starting to ease up a bit. Then he takes his head off my shoulder to look at me. "You really know Mordin can take care of him?"

I give him a small smile. The fact that he asked that is a good sign. It shows that he's starting to believe me. "I couldn't believe some of the stuff I've seen him heal," I say. "Garrus couldn't be in better hands."

He tries to smile back, and even though it doesn't quite work, the fact that he tried is another good sign. "Good. That...that helps, Dylan."

"One does one's best, big guy. He'll be fine."

Suddenly, the temperature of the room seems to drop a few degrees. I shiver slightly, but a voice like a leaden crypt door closing deep underground sends an even greater chill down my spine.

PROBABLY.

Ian and I quickly look across from us to find Death sitting at the other side of the table. Ian's eyes widen in fear, and he starts shaking his head and hyperventilating.

"No. Not you," he says quietly. "You can't be here."

While Ian might be frightened by Death's sudden appearance, I find myself getting angry. I was _this_ close to calming Ian down.

"For fuck's... God damn it, Death!" I say, giving the robed skeleton a pointed look. "Now? You chose _now_ to show up?"

I AM MERELY MAKING MY REQUIRED APPEARANCES, he says.

"You can't honestly tell me that Garrus is about to die!" I say, suddenly fearful that I'm lying to myself.

YOU ARE CORRECT. COS OF QUANTUM, I CANNOT KNOW. BUT HE MIGHT DIE. THEREFORE I MUST BE HERE.

"No he won't," Ian says, starting to sound hysterical again. "He's not going to die. I'm not going to let you touch him."

IF IT IS HIS TIME, I MUST TAKE HIM, Death says. The tears in Ian's eyes start welling up again.

"After everything he's done, he doesn't deserve to die," he says pleadingly. "Where's the justice in that?"

THERE IS NO JUSTICE. THERE IS JUST ME.

"Then if it's just you, I'll try and stop you. If you even want to touch Garrus, you'll have to come through me." He tries to make his tone defiant, but…it doesn't quite work. Maybe it's because he's trying to defy a seven foot robed skeleton with a scythe.

A NOBLE GESTURE, BUT ULTIMATELY FRUITLESS. There's a short pause as Death seems to think of something. ALTHOUGH... He taps his chin with one bony finger.

"Although what? What?"

IT IS WITHIN THE RULES FOR THE DYING TO CHALLENGE ME TO A GAME FOR THEIR SOUL, Death says. I SUPPOSE IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO CHALLENGE ME FOR YOUR FRIEND.

Ian's answer is immediate. "I'll do it."

YOU DO REALIZE THE CONSEQUENCES SHOULD YOU LOSE?

"No…"

YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY OFFERING ME YOUR SOUL FOR HIS, Death explains. SHOULD YOU LOSE, I TAKE YOUR SOUL.

Ok, something about that doesn't sit right with me. "But I thought we were your wild cards!" I say, unable to keep the irritation out of my voice. "Why would you try to kill one of us?"

THERE ARE RULES THAT CANNOT BE BROKEN, he says slowly and deliberately.

"Those rules suit me fine," Ian says quietly. I quickly turn my head to look at him.

"I have to ask: Are you sure about this, big guy?"

"I win either way," he says. "Garrus lives. Don't ask me not to save him, Dylan." Our gazes lock, and for the first time since coming on the Normandy, I see nothing but resolution in his eyes.

"I won't," I say. "I just had to make sure."

Ian gives me one nod then looks back at Death. He's trying so hard to keep a straight face, but it's plain to see the terror written large across his features.

"So what's the game?" he asks in a slightly shaky voice.

CHESS IS THE TYPICAL CHOICE, BUT IT IS UP TO THE CHALLENGER, Death says.

"I think...cards," Ian says after a moment's thought. "We could play poker."

AN INTERESTING CHOICE. ALRIGHT, A SINGLE HAND. WINNER TAKES ALL. The irony of that last sentence isn't lost on me. The winner really _does_ take all.

Death pulls out a deck of cards from his robes. Rather unsurprisingly, the back of every card is adorned with a skull. With a calm precision, Death starts shuffling the cards. In any other situation, I would be wary of cheating on the part of the dealer, but I know that Death doesn't cheat. I'm not sure he knows how.

He deals the cards: two to Ian, two to himself. Ian looks at his hand then shows it to me: a pair of fives. Not a bad starting hand. After a moment, Death deals the flop, revealing two fives and an ace.

…

Ian has a four of a kind.

We both keep our poker faces, and I look up at Death. The two pinpricks of blue light in his eye sockets are steady, and his face is as expressionless as always. Leave it to the skeleton to have an unbeatable poker face.

The turn shows up a king, and the river reveals another ace. So Ian's final hand is a four of a kind. I'm…tentatively optimistic.

"Should I put mine down first?" Ian asks, voice and hands shaking as he looks at his cards one more time.

SHOW YOUR HAND.

Ian lays his cards on the table. "Four fives."

Death stares at Ian's cards for a moment then places his own hand on the table.

His starting hand was a pair of aces.

There are two other aces on the board…

I look over at Ian to see him staring blankly at the cards on the table.

"Ian…"

"It's alright," he says in an unsteady voice. The tears are welling up once again. "After what I let happen, Garrus deserves life more than I do. Just tell him I'm sorry." He takes a shaky breath, trying to fight through the tears. "And that I love him. Always have. And make sure he knows this wasn't his fault. Look after him for me." He turns to face Death. His whole body is trembling. "Rules are rules, right?"

YOU ARE CORRECT. RULES ARE RULES, Death says. There's a distinct pause before he speaks again. YOUR FIVES CLEARLY BEAT MY ONES. I CEDE VICTORY TO YOU. One of the lights in Death's eye socket flashes for the briefest instant. I…I think he just winked at us…

Wait…ones? But…but…

"Wait, what?" Ian asks, eyes still full of tears. He's obviously realized the same thing I have. "But aces aren't—unless you play low aces." Ian gasps as we both reach the same conclusion.

Death let him win.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. A ONE IS A ONE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU WIN. YOUR FRIEND'S SOUL IS SAFE. IT WAS ALWAYS SAFE.

"It was always safe?" Ian asks, voicing the same question I have. "Then...why did you do this?"

THERE IS ALWAYS UNCERTAINTY, Death explains. YOUR FRIEND COULD HAVE VERY WELL DIED. BUT YOUR CHOICE TO PLAY FOR HIS LIFE CHOSE A PATH. YOU OPENED THE BOX TO SEE THE CAT INSIDE, SO TO SPEAK.

"Well...I'm..." He trails off, looking like he's gonna break down again. I feel like this breakdown, though, would be out of relief. I put my arm back around his shoulders and give a quick squeeze.

"Don't question it, big guy," I say, smiling. "You heard it from the man himself: Garrus is gonna be fine."

YES, QUITE. NOW, I MUST BE OFF. BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR SUICIDE MISSION. HOPEFULLY, MY SERVICES WILL NOT BE REQUIRED. And with that, he fades away, gone back to wherever it is he calls home.

As soon as he disappears, all the pent up stress that Ian was feeling breaks. He starts crying again, but it's a different sort of crying. I don't really know how to explain it, but it just seems more relieved than anything.

"He's gonna be okay, Dylan..." he mutters in between tears. I just sit there, arm still around his shoulders, and let him cry it all out.

"See, Ian? I told you all along he would be fine," I say.

"Is this really the time for an 'I told you so'?" he asks, managing to get out a chuckle. I can't help but smile upon hearing that.

"I guess not, but I couldn't help it. You know me."

He looks up at me, giving a small smile in return. "Yeah. Thanks. I dunno what I would have done if you weren't here."

"I don't know what _I_ would have done if you wouldn't have been there for me after Ash's death," I say. "So why don't we call it even?"

"Alright," he says, sniffling a few more times. Thankfully, I think the tears are done. "I think I can do that."

"Good." For a while, we just sit there. He manages to compose himself, but there's still some sadness showing on his face. "You gonna be ok?" I ask after a while.

He looks down at the table again. "About Garrus? Yeah."

He rather skillfully avoided answering the question I was getting at. I'm glad to know he'll be fine with that, but there's still something else.

"And about everything else?" I ask quietly.

"I don't know."

"Alright," I say after a while. I don't think I should push this right now. Not after everything that just happened. But if you ever need to talk..."

"Then I have you to talk to," he says, finishing my thought. "I know, Dylan. Thanks."

"Any time, big guy. That's what bros do." I look up at the med bay to see that the windows are still darkened, meaning they're still working on Garrus. "I wonder when they're gonna get done in there."

"You're not the only one..." he mutters.

As if on cue, the door opens and Mordin walks out. He glances around, sees us sitting there, and walks over to us.

"Glad you're here," he says. "Operation was success. Removed all bullets from torso. Patient in stable condition."

"So he's gonna be ok?" Ian asks. Weren't we just over this with Death? But I guess I can't blame him for asking.

"Will make full recovery. Miraculous that all vital organs remained untouched. Very lucky turian."

"Can I go see him?"

"No," Mordin says simply. "Garrus needs rest. Lost a lot of blood. Will require time to fully recover. Will let him know you're waiting when he wakes up." And before Ian can say anything more, Mordin walks back into the med bay.

Skip ahead a few hours, and we're still sitting in the mess hall. Ian fell asleep a while ago out of sheer mental and physical exhaustion, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Since I really had nothing else to do, I decided to write that message I promised Vi.

_Dear Vi,_

_Just thought I'd let you know that I'm finally on the Normandy. I probably would have gotten to this sooner, but a lot of crazy shit came up. You remember Ian? Well we picked up him and Archangel before coming back. And I think you'll be happy to know that we had to carve our way through the big three to get to them. But enough about me. How's the clinic doing? Have you got the plague on the run? I expect nothing less ;) Anywho, just thought I'd fulfill my promise and send you a message. Hope to hear back soon!_

_Dylan._

With that done, I send the message on its merry way. I wonder how long it'll take for her to reply. Hopefully not too long.

Before I can think about it further, the med bay door opens. Ian's awake in an instant, looking over to see who it is.

"Garrus…" he whispers. Faster than I thought possible, he's out of the chair and wrapping Garrus in a giant hug. After a quick moment of surprise, Garrus returns the hug with equal fervor. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Everything's ok, Ian. You know I'd never leave you."

**A/N: Well there we go! Everything turned out for the best. Well...mostly. At least Garrus is alive, and Ian didn't lose his soul in a game of poker. Also, speaking of those two, the fate of their squad is in no way indicative of what happens to them in MtM3. Even _I_ don't know how that's gonna end. But in WttNF, they're dead.**

**Once again, Death belongs to the wonderful Terry Pratchett. I'm merely borrowing him. Fans of _Maskerade_ should find Death's game familiar.**

**Anywho, I believe that's it for this chapter. At least it isn't a cliffhanger! ;) Till next time, guys and gals, ta ta!**


	9. I'm Home

**A/N: Well folks, here we are for chapter nine. I've gotta say, I had tons of fun writing this chapter. Most of it just wrote itself. So yeah, enjoy!**

**I'm Home**

"Glad to see you back on your feet, Garrus," Jenny says with a smile as Garrus, Ian, Mordin, and I walk into the conference room. It looks the same way it did in the game: a simple rectangular room with the big old table in the middle. Surprisingly, Jenny's the only one in here. I was at expecting Miranda or Jacob to be in here, too.

"Glad to be back, Shepard," he says, mandibles widening a slight bit.

"And Mordin, I'm sorry we had to put you to work right away."

"Happy to assist, Shepard," Mordin says.

"So back at the base, you said you had some stuff to explain once we got out of that mess," Ian says, looking at Jenny. "And it looks like we're pretty well out of that mess."

Jenny closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out with a large sigh. "I'm guessing you want me to start with how I'm even here?" she asks, suddenly sounding tired.

"I suppose that's as good a place as any."

"Alright. Well, I actually…died…in the attack on the Normandy. The last thing I remember was… Well, I don't remember anything after the attack. The next thing I know, I'm waking up somewhere. Apparently Cerberus recovered my body and spent billions of credits to bring me back."

"I thought I recognized that symbol that's on everything around here," Garrus says. "Never thought I'd ever work for Cerberus."

"You and me both, Garrus," she says, shaking her head. "So that's why _I'm_ here. _You're_ here because I need you. Human colonies are disappearing, and Cerberus wants me to stop it. To do that, I need a good team. The best, actually."

"I'm assuming you know _how_ the colonies are disappearing?" Ian says.

"The Collectors."

"Well…that's interesting," Garrus says. "We stopped quite a few slave shipments that were supposedly going to them. Just another reason to stop them, I suppose."

"The Illusive Man thinks that this is most likely going to be a suicide mission," Jenny says hesitantly. "I won't force you two get involved in that."

"Please, you couldn't do this without us. At least not with any style." Garrus grins again. "Besides, you pretty much saved our asses, so even if we didn't want to come—which we _do_—we owe you." Ian doesn't say anything, but he nods emphatically at Garrus' words. Jenny's silent for a moment as she looks between the two.

"Thank you." Then she includes me in that look and smiles. "With the three of you here, it'll be just like going after Saren."

"I still haven't seen any geth," I say with a small grin.

"And I keep telling you to give it time," she says, matching my grin.

"So I have one last question," Ian says. Jenny motions for him to continue. "Where's our room?" For some reason, that sends Jenny into a fit of laughter. That wonderful laugh of hers is contagious, and Garrus and I are soon laughing, too.

"Go down to the shuttle deck and take a right out of the elevator," she says after she regained her composure. "There'll be a door leading to a hallway with four more doors coming off it. Who gets which room is up to you three."

"Thanks. I think Garrus and I are gonna go relax for a bit."

"Have fun," I say as they walk out of the door.

"Still curious as to why I'm here," Mordin says after a brief silence. Wow, I almost forgot that he was here. I don't think he's ever been so silent for so long.

"We were hoping you could figure out how the Collectors are making the colonies vanish," Jenny says. "We got some samples at the latest colony to be hit. We were hoping you could analyze them."

"Yes, of course. Analyze the samples. Going to need a lab."

"There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus," a familiar voice says from seemingly out of nowhere. "If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order."

And there's EDI. Man, I almost forgot about her. I guess it's that she's technically everywhere on the ship but usually stays quiet.

…

Wait… She's everywhere on the ship. She pretty much _is_ the ship with the exception of a few restrictions. Presumably she knows everything that happens on the Normandy.

…

Well that could be bad. If she has cameras recording everything onboard, that means she saw my whole conversation with Ian. Fuck. I'm on the ship for less than a day, and I already manage to fuck up? And that's not even thinking about the possibility that she saw us talking to Death. And even if she didn't actually see Death, it looked like we were talking to empty air.

Fuck.

Ok, I can't freak out about this yet. Maybe I can somehow salvage this situation. We didn't _really_ talk about our knowledge that much, so the only thing that would be weird would be the part with Death. Still…that's not very comforting. I'm gonna have to ask Jenny about this.

And now might actually be the time. During my musings, Mordin expressed surprise over EDI, Jenny confirmed that there is an AI, and she pointed him in the direction of the lab. So now it's just the two of us.

"So…an AI?" I ask, giving Jenny a look.

"Yeah. Didn't have a choice, though. Came with the ship."

"Is it everywhere? I mean, can it, like, see and hear everything on the ship?"

"I am equipped with audio visual recording devices at various terminals throughout the ship," EDI says calmly. Ok…again, I sort of forgot that she was here. Although…her answer sounded promising.

"So if an event occurs away from one of these terminals, you have no way of seeing or hearing it?" I ask, wanting to be absolutely sure.

"That is correct," she says after a moment's pause. Ok, that's almost too good to be true. I give Jenny a questioning look, hoping that she confirms it.

"EDI's telling the truth," Jenny says. "Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" I ask, feeling my stomach drop a bit.

"EDI can also access anything recorded by any Cerberus bugs onboard. Luckily for us, there aren't any. Not anymore at least."

I breathe a huge internal sigh of relief. Holy hell, we really dodged a bullet with that one. EDI doesn't have a terminal in the mess hall, so none of our conversation is on record. Thank fuck for that.

"Well that's certainly good to know," I say. "So is there anything you need me to do?"

"Nope, you're free to explore the ship," Jenny says. "Or if you want to go back to Omega for some reason, you've still got a few hours before we leave." Ooh, that reminds me that I still have all my stuff back at Vi's apartment.

"Alright, then I'm gonna run out real quick. I need to pick up my stuff."

"Just make sure to be back on time." She grins. "Wouldn't want to leave you behind."

"You certainly wouldn't," I say, returning her grin. "You couldn't do this shit without me." And with that, I walk out before she can say anything in response.

I exit to the CIC by way of the lab. Already, Mordin is happily at work studying something. I just walk out of the room without disturbing him. If I learned anything while working with him at the clinic, it's not to bother him while he's running tests. Angry Mordin is not your friend.

Out in the CIC, I see the big holographic representation of the Normandy in the middle of the room. All around the projection, crewmembers are working at terminals, doing god knows what. And standing at her usual place next to the galaxy map is Kelly Chambers. You know, she always seemed to get a lot of hate back home, but I never minded her. Course, maybe that's because I actually talked to her. Even I found her constant alerts about messages annoying, but I was able to overlook that once I got to know her. Hopefully it'll be the same way here in real life.

And speaking of Kelly, she turns around at the sound of the door opening. Since there's no way that she doesn't see me standing here, I figure I might as well get it over with and introduce myself.

"Hello, Mr. Owens," she says as I approach. "It's a pleasure to meet you." I will never understand how she can be so chipper all the time.

"You appear to have me at a disadvantage, Ms. … ?" I say, feigning ignorance of who she is.

"I'm Kelly Chambers, yeoman to Commander Shepard. Please, though, just call me Kelly."

"Alright, Kelly, then you can just call me Dylan."

"I'd like that," the yeoman says, giving me one of her classic smiles. Seriously, how can anyone not like that smile? "If you have the time, I'd really like to sit down and talk with you."

Ah, so now the psychiatrist comes out. But I shouldn't know that. Hmm…maybe I can have some fun with this, then.

"We only just met, Kelly," I say with a smile of my own. "Besides, I didn't realize I was your type." That makes her laugh. It's a sort of high, lilting laugh that's probably contagious in large quantities.

"While I'm sure you've a very nice man, I didn't mean it like that. You see, in addition to being Commander Shepard's yeoman, I act as the ship's psychologist. This will likely be a very stressful mission, and the Illusive Man handpicked me to make sure the team and crew are in top mental health."

"So you want to establish a baseline for me?"

"In general terms, yes," she says. "Though I really would like a chance to just talk first. I've always found that an analysis is easier when you've gotten to know the person first."

"Seems logical, I suppose," I say. "Unfortunately, I was just about to run out to get my things, but I'd be happy to oblige you at a later date."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Just let me know when you're ready to talk. If I'm not here, you can find me in the mess hall or crew quarters."

"Alright, good to know. It was nice talking to you, Kelly."

"The pleasure was mine," she says, giving me another smile. "I look forward to speaking with you again." With that, she turns back to her console, leaving me free to get my stuff.

Well, that actually wasn't a bad conversation. I still don't know how she can be so damn nice all the time. Though considering how other members of the crew can be, I guess her happiness isn't all that bad. I walk through the CIC towards the airlock, all of the Cerberus crewmembers ignoring me as I pass by. A voice stops me as I'm about to step into the airlock.

"Well if it isn't our resident krogan hugger," Joker says from his chair in the cockpit. I look over at him to see that he's turned his chair to face me. There's a big grin on his bearded face.

"And if it isn't our resident sarcastic pilot," I say, walking up to him with a smile of my own. "I thought I heard your voice earlier when we got back."

"I do have an amazing voice," he says, just dripping faux-modesty.

"So what are you doing here, Joker? I sort of lost track of you for the past two years." I assume a hurt expression. "You never called me."

"It's not like you ever called me, either."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Well played. Well played indeed." He smiles again.

"Thanks, I was rather proud of it," he says.

"So are you gonna answer my question?"

"I guess, but only because you asked so nicely. You remember how the Alliance grounded me?" I nod. "Yeah, I didn't really like that. I'm nothing if I can't fly. So I quit."

"I think I remember Kaidan mentioning that when I saw him last," I say.

"Yeah, well, let's just say I wasn't in the best state of mind at the time," he says, suddenly getting sullen. "Spent the next few months on Earth, trying to drink my problems away." He snorts. "Only thing that went away was any money I had saved up."

"So how'd you end up with Cerberus?"

"They must have heard of my amazing skills. I was getting drunk in a bar somewhere when one of their agents approached me. Told me they'd let me fly again, and that's all I needed to hear. Signed up on the spot, and here I am." He pauses and gives me a look. "Your turn, now. How'd you end up here?"

"Fair's fair, I suppose," I say with a shrug. "Around the same time that the Alliance grounded you, they decided they didn't need me anymore. Lived with Garrus and Ian for a while, but after a few months, they left to come here and fuck up the mercs. I stayed on the Citadel for another two months or so before I decided I had to get away. Heard about Mordin's clinic and spent about a year and a half working there. When Jenny came by to pick up the doc, I just tagged along."

"Talk about a two for the price of one," he says, grinning. I chuckle at his choice of words.

"Pretty much. It was weird, though. When I saw her walk into the clinic, I didn't even have to think about it. I just offered to join right away."

"I was the same way when Cerberus told me what they were planning. Guess it shows how great a commander she is to inspire that much loyalty."

"It sure does," I say. We fall into a short silence, neither one of us sure what to say next. Finally, I decide that I really need to get my stuff. "Well unless you want to trade insults for old time's sake, I was actually just about to run out on a quick errand."

"Nah, I can wait," he says. "Besides, I feel like I should have been doing something this whole time."

"You were supposed to be calculating a route to Korlus, Mr. Moreau," EDI says, her small avatar suddenly appearing over one of the consoles next to Joker. Huh, so I guess we're going to get Grunt next. Should be fun. The pilot rolls his eyes.

"Yes, mom," he says, somehow making it sound condescending. Then he looks back at me. "I guess we both have things to do."

"Looks like it," I say, trying to hide a smile. "Talk to you later, Joker."

* * *

About an hour later, I walk back onto the Normandy with a duffle bag full of my stuff. Not like I really have much stuff anyway, just some clothes and small personal effects. But the clothes were important; there's no way in hell I'm wearing something that has the Cerberus logo plastered all over it.

Anywho, as I walk through the airlock, I look over at Joker, thinking he might want to talk some more. He seems focused on his consoles, though, so he's still probably working out a course to Korlus. Seeing as Jenny wants to leave soon, I should probably let him work.

Well let's see… Now that I have all my stuff, I can finally take my armor off. I've been wearing it pretty much all day, and I'm finally starting to feel the strain. I guess I should head to the armory. I quickly make my way through the CIC, intentionally walking on the other side of Kelly. I suddenly feel tired, and I just don't want to deal with her right now. All I want to do is find my room and relax. When I walk in, though, I can tell that won't be happening.

"Hey, Jacob," I say, deciding to be the one to start the conversation. If it was gonna happen anyway, it's gonna happen on my terms. "Didn't expect to see you in here."

"Oh, hi, Dylan," he says, looking up from whatever he was working on. "I could say the same to you. At least I work here."

"Didn't know you ran the armory. Makes sense, though. You handled that shotgun like a champ when we were killing vorcha."

He makes a rueful face. "Yeah, still didn't keep me from getting shot, though." Shit…with all the excitement over Garrus and Ian, I…sort of forgot about that. He doesn't need to know that, though.

"I take it since you're not in the med bay that everything's ok with that?" I ask, looking down at where he got shot. I don't see anything besides his Cerberus jumpsuit, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's still a bandage underneath it.

"Sure is," he says with a smile. "Chakwas had me in and out in less than an hour. The stuff that you and Dr. Solus did pretty much covered everything. So thanks again for saving my ass."

I return his smile. "Just doing my job, Jacob. Though if saving your ass helped endear me to Miranda, I certainly wouldn't complain. I got the feeling that she wasn't happy about my offer to join the team."

"Yeah, she can kinda be a stickler for correct procedure sometimes. She's also not the most trusting person, and the fact that she didn't have a dossier on you probably didn't help."

"I was getting that sort of vibe myself. Though it sounds like you don't have that same reservation."

"When you offered to join, I figured we should at least see how you did," he says with a shrug. "Saving my life pretty much cemented your spot on the team as far as I'm concerned. Plus, you were part of Shepard's old team, right?"

"Yeah, I was."

He grins. "Even better, then. I was on Eden Prime when the geth attacked, and you guys are the only reason that colony's still alive."

"Really?" I ask, actually curious for once. I'll be the first to admit, I sort of ignored Jacob during my playthroughs of ME2, so I honestly don't know much about him. "What were you doing on Eden Prime?"

"Well, before I joined Cerberus, I was in the Alliance. I was stationed there during the attack."

"I thought most of the Alliance garrison got decimated," I say, thinking to what happened to Ash's unit.

"My unit was actually out doing some exercises outside of the colony."

"Lucky," I mutter, unable to stop myself from thinking back to that day. Might count as one of the best and worst days of my life. On the one hand, I got to come here to the MEverse, but on the other, I lost everything to do it. Not to mention getting that fucking vision. That thing still pisses me off sometimes…

Since Jacob has no way to hear my thoughts, he just chuckles at my words. "Yeah, you're telling me. When we got word of the attack, we hustled back to the colony. By the time we got there, though, you guys had already cleared out most of the resistance."

"I'd like to say I was just doing my job, but I'd be lying through my teeth. I was just some punk colony kid who managed to get in way over his head."

"Seems like you've come a long way from being a punk colony kid," he says with a certain amount of approval in his voice.

"Yeah, I sort of had to grow up pretty fast on the Normandy," I say. "Sometimes I wish I could have stayed the way I was before that all happened." Unspoken is the part about that wish including being back in my home universe. Those urges don't happen very often anymore, but I'd be lying to myself if I said I never had them.

"Well I'd say you've done a pretty damn good job under the circumstances," he says, patting my shoulder. "And that's really all you can do."

I pause in my armor removal to straighten up and look the operative straight in the eye. "Thanks, Jacob. I sometimes need a reminder that I made the right choices."

"After everything you've already done for me, Dylan, it's the least I could do." He seems to notice that I'm almost done getting my armor off. "Well I'm sure you're tired after two straight missions. I'll let you finish up here and get some rest."

"Just a little tired, yeah," I say with a smile, taking off the last piece of armor and putting it away. With that armor _finally_ off, I stand up and stretch my tired joints. Feeling slightly better now, I store my Mattock and Carnifex in with my armor and grab the rest of my stuff.

I walk out of the armory and head towards the elevator. Luckily Kelly doesn't decide that she wants to talk, and I'm able to enter the lift without any hassle. I hit the button for deck five then lean back against the wall. For some reason, the elevator is going a lot slower than it did when we got Garrus to the med bay, making me think that Joker—or EDI—overrode the elevator controls to make it go faster. As it is now, it's pretty much as bad as the old Normandy's elevator was at first. Maybe Tali can speed this one up, too, once she finally gets recruited.

As my mind wanders to other unimportant things, the door suddenly opens on deck three. I look up as the door opens to see Miranda standing there with a slightly surprised look on her face. She recovers almost instantly, though, making me think I might have imagined that look. The Cerberus operative calmly walks into the elevator and presses the button for the CIC. Looks like she'll be waiting for a bit.

The two of us just stand in silence for a bit as the elevator continues its slow descent. The elevator isn't all that big, meaning that even if we stood at opposite corners, there still wouldn't be that much space between us. Glancing down at her, I'm surprised to notice that I'm, well…looking down at her. For some reason, I had never noticed that I was a good few inches taller than her. I don't know why that surprises me, though. I mean, she's slightly taller than the average woman, but I'm also slightly taller than the average man.

I don't know why that's even worth mentioning, but it surprises me nonetheless. I guess she's a fairly strong authority figure, and you tend to expect people in authority to be larger than you. Noticing that I actually look down on her somehow makes her more…I don't know, approachable. Less intimidating. Emboldened by this sudden realization, I decide to try talking to her.

"How are you doing, Operative Lawson?" I ask, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead. There's a fairly lengthy silence, and when I glance at her out of the corner of my eye, I see her giving me a skeptical look.

"We had two successful recruitments today, Mr. Owens, so I'm doing fairly well," she says in a civil, almost overly-formal, tone of voice. "Even though one almost resulted in the death of a recruit, and the other _did_ result in an unexpected recruit." Ah, so I was right. She doesn't really like that I didn't have a dossier. Well let's see if I can change that.

"It seems you don't approve of my being here, Ms. Lawson."

"You're right. I don't."

"Care to enlighten me on why?" I ask, keeping with the same tone of voice she used earlier.

"I believe I mentioned my reasons back at the clinic," she says. "You're a wild card. We don't know where your loyalties lie."

"I think it should be fairly clear where my loyalties lie," I say, letting the slightest hint of irritation creep into my voice.

"So I'm supposed to believe that you would just drop everything to join your old commander?"

I nod. "Pretty much, yeah."

"You gave up a perfectly good life to go on a suicide mission? That doesn't seem like something a normal person would agree to."

"And who says I'm a normal person?" I say with a small half-grin. "Besides, what was I supposed to do when I suddenly see Jenny after her being dead for two years?"

"I certainly wouldn't say joining her for a suicide mission," she says, starting to sound a little snippy.

My grin gets wider. "Then you've obviously never served under Jenny before. It's amazing the kind of loyalty she can inspire. Since you went to all the trouble to bring her back, I thought you'd have known that."

There's quite a decent silence after my last statement. How the hell has the elevator not stopped yet? Once again, I glance down at her out of the corner of my eye. It doesn't seem like she's going to say anything else. While I'm ok with that, I also don't think I want to get on Miranda's bad side. Maybe a small peace offering…

"I still don't think you're telling the whole truth," she says suddenly before I can say anything, "but I also don't think you'll be a liability." Wow…did she just offer _me_ a proverbial olive branch? I, uh, can't say I was expecting that. "Besides, the Illusive Man had a file on you five minutes after you stepped on the ship." I quickly turn my head to actually look at her, only to see a sly smile on her face. Again, I wasn't expecting that.

Luckily, the door opens to deck five, giving me an excuse to cut and run. I really have no idea how I was gonna respond to that last statement. "I'll talk to you later, Miranda," I say, stepping out of the elevator before she can say anything in response.

As I walk away, I heave a sigh of relief. That conversation took a very unexpected turn there at the end, and I don't think it would have ended well for me. But at least it's over and I can finally get to my room and relax. I follow the directions that Jenny gave earlier and quickly find myself in the hallway where the rooms are. One of them has a red door control, so I'm guessing that Ian and Garrus have already claimed that one. All the others are green, so it seems that I have free choice between the other three. I think I'll take the one across from them. I get the feeling that sharing a wall might not end well for me…

Anywho, I walk into the room and take a moment to look around. It's not very big, but I don't think I'll be spending much time in here anyway. It's got a bed, a small dresser, and a desk with a terminal on it. That's really all I need, I suppose.

I somehow take the time to put my clothes away in the dresser before schlepping off the elasticized undersuit and changing into shorts and a t-shirt. Once I'm in more comfortable clothes, I sit on the edge of the bed, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. I quickly check my omni-tool for the time and am surprised to see that it's six pm. Holy hell. I've been awake since nine, and I was on two missions in the span of about four hours. No wonder I'm tired. I think…I think I'll take a nap.

I'm asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

* * *

A random ping brings me out of my wonderful sleep. I drearily look around for the source of the noise to find my omni-tool lit up. Huh…looks like I got a message. And it's from Vi! I immediately open it and begin reading.

_Dear Dylan,_

_Anything that keeps those thugs off the streets is good by my books :) I'm glad you got to the Normandy safely! Honestly, I was beginning to worry a bit. If Ronon hadn't come back to the clinic and let us know that you and Shepard were infiltrating the merc base, I'd have been crapping my pants with worry. And that's just not pretty. Tell Ian hi for me! With the plague finally over, things are calming down at the clinic. I wasn't sure Daniel could run the place, but we haven't sunk the proverbial ship. The hours are crazy, though. I thought I didn't have a life before, now I really don't. We're looking for another Doctor to join the team, and hopefully soon. I haven't been back to the apartment long enough to do more than shower. Jesse brought Ronon in for full-time security in your absence. I think Jesse actually misses you ;) Anyway, lots of work to be done. The district's a mess with the vorcha and Suns fighting it out all over again. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather the Suns win this one than the vorcha. Let's just hope they assume Mordin's still in charge, 'cause I don't think Daniel has what it takes to stand up to them. I hope everything is going well! Take care!_

_-Vi_

Well I'm glad to hear everything's going well enough. I sort of agree with Vi about Daniel, but I think that with her and Ronon there, everything will be ok. I'll have to write her back when I'm feeling a little more lucid. As it is, I close the message and check the time: It's midnight. So much for a short nap.

Before I can dwell on that any further, my stomach grumbles quite loudly. I guess I _did_ skip lunch. And dinner for that matter. But now that my stomach as spoken up, it won't let me fall back asleep until I've eaten. Resigned to my stomach's orders, I get out of bed and head to the elevator.

There's a short wait as the lift gets to my deck, and once it does, there's an even longer wait as it travels up to deck three. I have to fight the urge to fall back asleep, but every time my eyes start to droop a little, my stomach growls at me. It really is a horrible thing not to be able to trust your own stomach. I really hope Gardner keeps stuff out for late-night snacks. I'm not in the mood to make something.

The door finally opens on deck three, and I step out of the elevator. Walking into the mess hall, I see a very familiar sight.

"It's nice to know some things never change," I say to Jenny, who's sitting at a table, nursing a cup of coffee. She looks up at me with a small smile on her face.

"I could say the same thing," she says as I walk over to the food prep area. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Gardner left any food out, meaning I'm gonna have to make something. I sigh. Wonderful.

"If you're looking for something quick, I have a stash of breakfast bars in the top cupboard. You're free to take some."

"Really?" I ask, looking over at her. She just nods, giving me another small smile. "Thanks." I quickly find said stash and grab two bars. My stomach's just gonna have to deal with this. With food in hand, I go sit across from Jenny, just like old times.

The two of us just sit in contented silence for a while. I start munching on the breakfast bar, and Jenny continues to sip away at her coffee. She's the one to finally speak up.

"So when did you grow that beard?" she asks. Wow, that wasn't the question I was expecting. But at least I can answer that one.

"I started growing it during my time on Omega," I say after I finish the first bar. "I thought it added to the look."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, just studying my face. "I think you looked better without it."

For some reason, that simple statement catches me off guard.

"Well…sometimes things change," I say lamely, unable to think of anything else to say. The small smile she had earlier disappears as she looks down at the table. Damn it, me! Now _I'm_ the one who made her sad by bringing up her death.

"Yeah…I guess they do," she mutters. Well fuck. Now I feel bad. Maybe now's the time to talk to her about it. Try to make her feel better about the whole situation.

"You want to talk about it?"

"I… I don't…I don't know." She falls silent, still looking down at the table. I decide to stay quiet and let her be the one to start talking. I don't want to push her into talking about it if she doesn't want to. "I just… How am I supposed to feel about all this? I…remember dying. Then I suddenly wake up and it's two years later. Everyone I knew has moved on."

"So I guess Garrus, Ian, and I don't count, then?" I ask with a smile. She smiles, too, but doesn't look up.

"I was so happy when I saw you standing there with Mordin. And I almost couldn't believe it when you told me that Archangel and Deadpool were Garrus and Ian." Her smile fades. "But as much as I keep trying to think that things stayed the same, I'm always getting little reminders that they haven't."

"Jenny, I don't think there's anything I can say that would make that feeling go away," I say, deciding that honesty is the way to go right now, "but I'll do anything I can to help you through it. I'm sure Garrus and Ian would agree with me."

Ah, there we go. The smile is back, and this time, she actually looked up from the table. "Thanks, Dylan. What would I do without these late night chats?"

I smile back at her. "You'd probably end up getting some sleep." For some reason, her smile gets bigger. I think I recognize that smile…

"Statement: one-love."

…

I'm home.

**A/N: Well there we go! First Normandy interaction chapter is now done! It's amazing how much of this happened completely unplanned. The only things I originally had for this chapter were talking to Jacob, Miranda, and Jenny. Everything else flowed naturally out of what I was writing.**

**And now for something that you guys and gals will actually care about. I start working next week, so update rates are up in the air. For all I know, nothing will change, but I'm just warning y'all about that now. Fingers crossed that nothing changes.**

**Anywho, I guess that's it for this chapter. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	10. Bonus Chapter

**A/N: Hey there, guys and gals! So I need to apologize for my absence over the past two weeks. Let's just put it down to a combination of work starting (and kicking my ass) and my muse being oddly silent. Also, this isn't the chapter ten that y'all have been waiting for. (That's currently still a work in progress.) Think of this as a special bonus chapter. (Which also means that this chapter is in no way canonical.) I'll let it explain itself. Enjoy!**

**Bonus Chapter**

I'm sitting at a table in the mess hall with Jenny, Ian, Garrus, Violet, and Kaidan sitting around me. None of us are saying anything right now, each lost in our own thoughts. Finally, I decide to voice mine.

"Man…I can't believe it's been a year since this story started," I say.

"We sure have come a long way, haven't we?" Jenny asks, looking around the table with a smile.

"I can't believe I've managed to last this long," I say. "Most SIs usually die long before now. It's strange to think that I'm one of the lucky ones."

"Luck? I'm pretty sure you've survived because I'm here," Ian says, giving me one of his classic grins. I can't help but laugh.

"Sure, _that's_ the reason. But just think, you almost weren't. I was prepared to try and survive based solely on me having the vision."

"Yeah, then you realized that would never work, so you called me in." His grin only gets bigger.

"Hey, I had other stuff planned," I say defensively.

"You mean like killing me off?" Ash says, suddenly appearing next to me. She sounds kinda pissed, and even though she's a ghost, I think she might hurt me.

"Do you know of any other SI with the balls to kill off the LI?" I ask, trying to think of a way to calm her down.

"No, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"A lot of people think that was the best chapter of _Welcome to the Family_."

She just rolls her eyes. "Yes, it was wonderfully written, but that still doesn't change the fact that I died," she says. "But whatever. I'll just be going now." And with a puff, she vanishes.

"I still think I'm the biggest reason you're still around," Ian says after a short silence.

"What makes you so special?" Jenny asks. "There's one thing that every good Mass Effect story has: an awesome Commander Shepard. So I think I should take that title."

"Please, Shepard stories are a dime a dozen," Violet says. "A good OC is what _really_ makes a story."

"The problem with OCs is that they're often based on people the author knows; therefore, most readers don't feel a good connection to them," Garrus says. "Whereas everyone has a favorite squad member."

"So that's why _I_ make the story," Kaidan says, smiling.

Garrus grins back at him. "No offense Kaidan, but you can't hope to compare to Space Batman. There's a reason I'm in all three games."

"And thank god you are," Ian says, putting an arm around Garrus' waist. Then he looks at me. "And to think you were originally gonna put me with Tali."

"You originally told me that was fine," I say. "But then you went and decided that you like scaly turian dick."

"It's not _that_ scaly," Garrus says, sounding offended. He looks down at Ian. "Is it?"

I FIND THIS CURRENT CONVERSATION SLIGHTLY BEYOND MY GRASP OF SOCIAL NUANCES, Death says, appearing next to me out of nowhere. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT MY PARTICULAR CHARACTER SEEMS TO HOLD MUCH FAVOR AMONG THE FANBASE.

"But you're Death," I say. "People feel like they _have _to like you. Otherwise you would kill them."

I TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT. YOU ARE SUGGESTING THAT THE READERS ONLY LIKE ME BECAUSE THEY FEAR TO DISLIKE ME. THAT MY PERSONALITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY POPULARITY.

Three grey hooded figures materialize out of thin air. One says, You are Death. To have personality is to be alive. It is a contradiction.

One says, The readers prefer us, anyway.

One says, They say we are much better than the starchild.

One says, Therefore, we win.

"It sounds an awful lot like you three are getting competitive," Ian says. "That requires a personality." The hooded figures share a look then burst into flames. After a sort of stunned silence, Ian turns to me with yet another grin. "See? Another reason why I'm the best part of the story."

"Personally, I think all of you are overlooking a simple fact," I say. "An SI is defined by the insert character. Which is me. I'm the one providing all the awesome internal monologue all the time, and the readers experience the various events through my eyes."

"Well there was that one time the story was from my point of view," Ian says.

"It was half a chapter. Doesn't count. Besides, I'm still the one that writes it."

"Write an awesome story all you want, but if no one reads it, it's not worth a vorcha's ass," Wrex says, stepping out of the elevator. His sudden appearance is surprising enough (though given everything else, it shouldn't be), but it's the fact that he's not promoting his own part in the story that really seems to shock everyone.

"He does have a point," Jenny says after some contemplation. "If no one read the story, you'd have stopped a long time ago."

"You're writing this just as much for them as yourself," Kaidan adds. "Probably more so."

"The readers do tend to make everything better," Ian says. "And that's experience talking."

"Wrex is right," I say. Then I turn to face you, the reader. "Thank you for helping to make this past year one of the best I've had. To those of you who have been around since the beginning (or pretty early on), it's been a hell of a ride, hasn't it? And to those of you who have just joined recently, I hope you stick around long enough to become old regulars. Either way, here's to a bright future! If it's half as good as the past, I'll be a happy man."

"You are so fucking cheesy," Ian groans.


	11. Briefing Time

**A/N: Alrighty folks! It's finally here. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the bonus chapter, but I know you've all been waiting for this one. Again, sorry for the delay, but sometimes real life is a pain. Anywho, enough talking. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Briefing Time**

A beeping from my omni-tool wakes me up. Well, it's nice to see that my alarm still works, even though I really wish it didn't right now. I guess it's 9:00. Still have no clue why I decided to wake up at 9…

But whatever. I tap a few buttons on my omni-tool and turn the alarm off. Despite not going to bed until around 1:00 am, I actually feel surprisingly rested. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not trying to sleep through the constant sound of gunshots, screams, and aircars that you get on Omega. I kinda forgot how silently the Normandy runs.

Well, no sense in lying here any longer. With a small groan, I sit up and swing my feet off the bed, sitting on the edge for a few moments. While I try to build up the mental strength to actually get up, my thoughts wander to yesterday. I honestly can't believe all the shit that happened in one day: Jenny comes back, I rejoin the Normandy crew, we save Ian and Garrus, Garrus almost dies. The list goes on and on. And of course there were the various interactions with the crew, culminating in a late night chat with Jenny, just like old times. I forgot how fun Questions was.

I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, finally deciding that I need to get up. Jenny said last night that we'd be reaching Korlus around noon, so I guess that's why I woke up this early: I want to be fully awake for the mission. Though…I'm not actually sure that I'm _on_ the mission. But I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

Now that I remember why I woke up, I can get started on my morning. Grabbing some clean clothes and toiletries, I head up to deck three to take a shower. Luckily there's no one else in here, leaving me in peace. The warm water helps relieve some knots that I have from yesterday, and for some reason, this sort of feels like me washing off the residue of Omega. I know that that horrible shit hole has left its mark on me—though I'm still not sure _how much_ of a mark—but it's symbolic, you know? It's a sort of final reminder that I'm back where I belong.

I turn the water off when I feel like I've been in here long enough. I walk up to the mirror and dry my hair, following that with lathering up my face with shaving cream. Luckily, my face survives the process, so I get dressed and find a place to store my bathroom stuff. I don't want to lug them back and forth every time I want a shower. Now if only there was a way to deal with my dirty clothes.

And over on the wall, there's totally a laundry chute. Awesome. I toss my dirty clothes in there and walk out of the bathroom, freshly shaved and clean as a whistle. Out on the crew deck, I don't hear any conversation from the mess hall. That's odd. I'd think at least someone would be in there talking over breakfast. Even some of the Cerberus crew that we never really learn much about. You know, I'm actually looking forward to meeting them. The only one I can remember from the game is Hadley. I forget where his station is, but for some reason, I remember his name.

Whatever. I can eat in peace, I suppose. Wonder what Gardner cooked up for breakfast. Rounding the corner, I'm surprised to see Garrus sitting at a table, staring down into a cup. He looks…I'm not really sure. I don't think I've ever seen that look on him. It certainly doesn't look happy, though. I quickly scope out the rest of the mess hall and don't see anyone else. I guess Rupert is off doing something. Well, no sense in creeping anymore.

"Hey, Garrus," I say, walking over to Rupert's table. Luckily he has some food laid out, so I grab a plate and sit across from the former vigilante. He looks up from his cup for a moment, but his gaze quickly returns down.

"Morning, Dylan," he mutters. He seems content to leave it at that, so I guess I'll just eat my breakfast. I can't really tell what it is…but I'm hungry enough not to care. I take a bite and—

—Have to force myself to swallow it. That…that might just break some sort of galactic convention. The thing is, it doesn't actually taste that bad, but it also has a sort of unnerving consistency to it. My mind shies away from finding words to describe it. I slowly and deliberately push the plate away from me, eliciting a small chuckle from Garrus.

"I see you've discovered Gardner's cooking," he says dryly.

"Is that why you're only drinking whatever that is?" I ask. I was about to say coffee, but then I saw that it's actually purple.

"Well, he doesn't have any dextro ingredients, so until we stop somewhere we can get some, I'm stuck with MREs." He pauses and seems to think of something. "I actually don't think that's a bad thing."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." I get up and put the tray back where I found it and walk over to the cupboard. I'm sure Jenny won't mind if I take a few breakfast bars…

"So how are you feeling, big guy?" I ask once I sit down again.

"Well, considering I'm even sitting here after taking a shot that, by all rights, should have killed me, I can't really complain, can I?"

He's got a point. Under normal circumstances, he probably should have died from that shot. You know, I just thought of something. Has Ian told Garrus about Death? And going off that, does he know what Ian did during the surgery? I'm curious, but that's not really the sort of thing that you just ask someone. I guess I'll have to either lead up to the question or get him to tell me himself.

"Do you remember anything after getting shot?"

He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, looking back down into his cup. "Not really. I don't even think I heard the shot. There was the briefest moment of pain, but then it went black." He quickly glances around then lowers his voice. "I had a brief chat with your tall, skinny friend." His voice returns back to normal. "I woke up in the med bay with Mordin and Chakwas fretting over me."

Well I suppose that answers my question about Death. I guess Ian told him at some point. Well that's good. Means I can talk freely with Garrus, too.

"I still can't believe Ian agreed to that game," I say, keeping my voice low. There's a sort of oppressive silence that follows my statement, and the temperature of the room seems to drop a few degrees. I look up from my breakfast bar to see Garrus giving me a frosty stare. Uh oh…I think I might have messed up.

"What was this Ian agreed to?" he asks, deathly quiet. Oh yeah, I definitely dropped the ball on this one. Shit.

"You know, maybe I should let him explain this—"

"What did he agree to, Dylan?" He, uh, sounds a bit angry. It might be in my best interests to not mess about.

"While you were in surgery, I was out here talking to Ian, trying to calm him down. Suddenly, our tall, skinny friend appeared right after I had gotten Ian to stop crying. As you can imagine, his appearance didn't really help Ian feel better."

"Just get to the point, Dylan." Oh, wow. He's really not messing around.

"Alright, alright, I just wanted to provide some context. Long story short, Ian agreed to play our friend in a game of poker for your life. If Ian won, you'd be safe. If he lost, our friend would take him instead of you. Because you ended up fine either way, Ian didn't see any downside."

"He did _what_?"

Yeah, that's about the reaction I was expecting. Hands slammed into table, half standing up, angry look in his eye. You know, the usual. It was all I could do not to flinch back…much.

"Garrus, calm down," I say, really hoping he takes my advice. "It all worked out in the end."

"What was he thinking, pulling a stunt like that?"

"He was thinking he would save your life, Garrus. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

He opens his mouth to retort, but my words seem to have brought him up short. "You're right," he says after a moment. "But that doesn't explain why he would be so distant afterwards."

"Really? I'd have thought he wouldn't let you go."

"Oh, he didn't. He kept physical contact all night. But at the same time…" He trails off, shaking his head.

"What's wrong, Garrus?" I ask, giving him a slightly concerned look. "I don't want to pry, but Ian's my friend, too."

"It was strange," he says after a moment. "He was clingy, but he was distant at the same time. He wanted to be close, but he didn't want to talk about it at all. Anytime I tried to bring it up, he dodged the question. Did he say anything to you when you talked with him?"

I think back to the conversation we had before Death showed up. One part of it stands out fairly prominently. "He feels guilty."

Garrus gives me a curious look. "Guilty? About what?"

"The squad."

For a long while, Garrus just sits there. I can't even begin to imagine what's going through his head right now.

"I thought I told him it wasn't his fault," he mutters after a while.

"I tried telling him the same thing, Garrus, but he feels like someone needs the blame. In his mind, he deserves it."

"The only one to blame is Sidonis," Garrus growls. Ok…that was kinda scary.

"I know that, Garrus. Again, I tried explaining that to him, but he wouldn't listen. I don't really know what to do."

"I'll try talking to him. If that doesn't work, we'll just have to think of something."

"Alright. If anyone can help him, it's you, Garrus."

"If not me, then you," he says with a small smile. I return the smile, and for a while, we talk about small, unimportant things. You know, looking back at my time on the original Normandy, I never spent much time with just Garrus. It seems like Ian was always around, too. I love the little Brit, but it's nice to have some interaction with Garrus without him around.

Over time, other crew members enter the mess hall. Zaeed comes up first, and he and Garrus start getting into arguments about who's the better merc killer. A few Cerberus crew members come in, but when they see who's sitting at our table, they choose to sit at the other one.

"I heard you killed three Suns with one shot, Garrus," I say, trying to spark a new stage of hilarious one-ups-manship.

"Well, the third one had a heart attack, so I can't really count him," Garrus says modestly.

"That's it? And here I heard Archangel was supposed to be a guddamn badass," Zaeed says. "I went into a bar on some batarian colony one time. One of the four-eyes tried to accuse me of stealing his woman. Now, ignoring the fact that I wouldn't touch a batarian woman with _his_ dick," he points to one of the Cerberus crew, "I _never_ go after someone else's girl. I broke a bottle over the bastard's head. Twenty minutes later, I was the only one to walk out of that bar alive."

Before Garrus can think of something to top that, Joker's voice comes over the speakers.

"All members of the ground team report to the comm room for briefing," he says. There's an audible click as he turns the PA off. The three of us share a quick look then get up from the table.

As we're standing in the elevator, I decide to check the time. Oh wow, it's 10:30. Time flies when you're having fun, right? Considering the banter they were up to earlier, Zaeed and Garrus are oddly silent during the ride up. Maybe they're getting into mission mode. Whatever, I'm happy with the silence.

The door finally opens, and the three of us walk into the briefing room. Jenny's already in here (big surprise there), and Jacob and Mordin are also here. I guess it makes sense seeing as they're both right next door. All of exchange short greetings then find a place to stand over by Mordin. I really wish there were seats in here like the old Normandy, but I guess it saves space this way.

After five minutes or so, everyone's here, and the briefing can begin.

"In about an hour, we'll be arriving at the planet Korlus," Jenny starts. "We're here to pick up the krogan warlord Okeer. His dossier has been sent to your omni-tools." And right on cue, my 'tool lights up with a new message.

_Dr. Okeer_

_-Millennia of combat and strategic experience_

_-Rumored familiarity with Collector technology_

_A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of this relationship with the mercenary group is unknown._

Well, that all seems pretty in line with the game. I never really read the dossiers, so I don't know if it's exactly the same, but the general info seems good.

"A Suns camp," Zaeed mutters. "Just fucking wonderful."

"I couldn't agree more, Zaeed," Jenny says. "Like the dossier says, we don't know if Okeer's there of his own free will. In the long run, it'll be safer to assume he's not and that we'll have to fight our way to him."

"Methods sound barbaric," Mordin says. "Curious why he is needed."

"Cerberus intel says that the doctor has had contact with the Collectors in the past," Miranda says. "He might know why they've suddenly started targeting humans."

"Even if he doesn't, Okeer fought in the Rebellions," Jenny says. "His combat experience must be astronomical."

"I wouldn't let Wrex hear you say that about another krogan," Garrus mutters. "He seems the jealous type."

I try. I really do. But I can't hold back the laughter. Jenny quickly joins me while the others look at us like we're crazy. We regain our composure after a few minutes.

"Don't worry, Garrus, Wrex'll never know," she says with a final chuckle. "Alright, back to business. We're gonna have to land about a klick away from the base to stay out of AA range. Approaching on foot should also increase our chances of getting in undetected."

"Do we know where Okeer is?" I ask, curious if we actually learn that beforehand.

"We don't have an exact location, but we can assume he'd be somewhere near the center of the base. Until we actually land and gather some more intel, we'll plan to reach the central building here." Pressing a few buttons on her omni-tool, Jenny brings up a 3D map of the base. It's not a full floor plan, but we can get a general idea of the layout of the base. "It looks like an approach from the east will offer the least resistance."

"Is there an estimate on the number of hostiles?" Jacob asks.

"Enough to make things interesting. Any other questions?"

"Who's going with you?" I ask.

She pauses for a few moments, looking around the room at everyone. "You, Miranda, Zaeed, and Ian," she says. Hmm, interesting team, but it sounds good to me. Zaeed and I will be the designated tanks, Jenny and Ian have sniping and infiltration covered, and Miranda's our biotic. "The four of you should be armored up and ready to go in half an hour in the shuttle bay. Dismissed."

Well, it's good to see that Jenny's briefing methods haven't changed. They've always been short, sweet, and to the point, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Gives me plenty of time to get ready. My first stop is deck five to put on my armor's undersuit. Once that's on, I'm back up to deck two and the armory. When I walk in, Ian's in there getting his stuff together. It also looks like he's in the middle of a conversation with Jacob.

"Where'd you find that thing, Ian?" the Cerberus operative asks as Ian straps the sword to his back. You know, I've been wondering the same thing ever since I saw him put it on back at his base.

"I found it in a merc base," he says.

"What was a merc doing with an HVB?" An HVB? The hell's that?

"Well, the base was actually a lieutenant's mansion. The bastard had a thing for interesting weapons."

"He probably didn't like you taking it, then," I say, walking up next to Ian and starting to put my armor on.

"He wasn't alive long enough to complain about it," Ian says coldly. I quickly glance up to see if he's joking around, but his face is completely stoic. Ok…

"So do you have any training with that?" Jacob asks, steering the conversation away from wherever it was going.

"Some, but not as much as I'd like. Maybe I'll get some in on this mission."

Jacob gives a small sigh. "Wish I could be going with you."

"You got shot yesterday, Jacob," I say with a smile, getting the last pieces of armor on. "You deserve a little time off."

"I've never really been a good patient. Recovery always seems to take too long."

"Well unless we go on two missions again today, I think you'll be ready for the next one," I tell him.

"Here's hoping," he says with a small smile of his own. "Good luck down there, guys."

"Thanks, Jacob. Hope the leg feels better." I put my guns in their proper spots and grab my mask. I'll put that on right before we land. Looking over at Ian, he just nods, and we walk out of the armory together.

When the elevator finally reaches us, it's empty. As it starts to descend, I actually decide to hold off on starting a conversation. I think back to the talk I had with Garrus and think that Ian might not be in the mood right now. There was also that thing with the merc lieutenant. I've never heard him talk about killing in such a…blasé fashion. I think Garrus is right; someone needs to really talk with Ian.

The elevator opens to deck five, and we step out into the shuttle bay. Jenny's already standing next to the shuttle, so Ian and I go stand with her. No one says anything, and it's barely not an awkward silence. After about five minutes, Zaeed and Miranda join us. The old merc is wearing an evil-looking smile, and the Cerberus operative is giving him an icy glare. I can only imagine the conversation they had in the elevator.

With everyone finally here, Jenny motions for us to get in the shuttle. Just like my elevator ride with Ian, the trip down to the planet is silent. No one seems to be in a talkative mood. While I'm fine with silence, I'm used to others around me talking before a mission. It's a little strange and a tiny bit unnerving.

"Thirty seconds, Commander," a voice says from the cockpit of the shuttle.

"Roger that, Hawthorne," Jenny says. Then she looks at the rest of us. "Everyone ready?" We all give some sort of affirmative. "Good. Now remember, the longer we can stay undetected, the better. Ian and I should be able to handle most patrols, but any engagement is gonna need to be over quickly. Understood?" Another round of confirmations. "Then let's go."

The shuttle comes to a stop and the door opens. The five of us quickly exit the vehicle and get behind some nearby cover. When no shots come our way, we cautiously stand up and start proceeding towards the base.

"There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed!" The sudden voice makes all of us freeze in our tracks. "Perfection is your goal!" Everyone seems to realize that the voice isn't coming from someone close by, and that's when we notice the speakers. Wow, I forgot about that part of this mission.

"Broadcasting orders over a loudspeaker? Charming," Miranda says, voice absolutely dripping with contempt.

"I get the feeling I'm gonna like killing her," Zaeed mutters.

"My guess is that she's in charge of this base," Jenny says. "Okeer is still our primary objective. Let's keep moving, but keep an eye out for patrols."

The path that we set down on is absolutely littered with debris and garbage. Actually, the whole planet is that way. I guess they weren't kidding about the whole "Dumpster of the Galaxy" title for this place. It really does look like a shithole.

As we approach a bend in the trail, the same voice comes over the loudspeaker. I honestly don't pay it much attention. It started spouting off shit about empires and armies. I don't really care, and looking at the others, they don't seem to either.

"Stop," Ian says right before we round the corner. "Four people around the bend. Let me take a look." He presses a few buttons on his omni-tool and suddenly vanishes. Holy crap! That little bastard got a tactical cloak! Son of a bitch!

There's a faint shimmer in the air where Ian used to be. If I look _really_ closely, I think I can almost see where he is. Maybe. I could just be imagining things. About five seconds later, he shimmers back into view. He's crouching behind some cover, and he puts a finger to the side of his helmet.

"There's a small outpost at the end of a short straightaway," he says over the radio. "I only see two on the walls, so the others must be inside. I can cloak again and take out one of the guards. Shepard, you should be able to take out the other in the confusion. Once we do that, the others should be able to storm the outpost."

"Copy that, Ian," Jenny says. In response, Ian just cloaks again.

"Three…two…one…"

The crack of a sniper rifle fills the air, and in an instant, Jenny is around the corner taking aim. A second later, a second shot flies down range. And that's our cue to move up. Miranda, Zaeed, and I round the corner and advance towards the enemy position at a crouch run. Zaeed and I are in the lead with Miranda about a meter behind us. We charge up the ramp to the outpost, Zaeed going left and me going right.

I quickly scan my side of the room, Mattock at the ready. Surprisingly, I don't see anyone. I glance towards the back entrance and find one of the mercs running away. Well, we can't have that, now, can we? Though now that I think about it, don't we need intel? Maybe this guy could provide that for us.

He's already got a decent head start: enough where I'm not sure I could catch him. Well I need to stop him from reaching any of his friends…assuming he hasn't already radioed for help…

Not wasting any more time, I decide that I can't be bothered by whittling his shields down. Instead, I open my omni-tool and send an overload his way. I see a burst of electricity flow across his armor, and he stumbles a little, but otherwise he keeps running. Well at least his shields are down. Taking careful aim, I pull the trigger. The hyper-accelerated round flies true and punctures the merc's armor in the upper thigh. He doesn't seem to notice until he tries to stride with that leg. He collapses.

"All clear on my end," Zaeed says through the radio. "Where's the fourth one?"

"I got him," I say. "He tried to escape, so I shot him in the leg. He's still alive if we want to try getting intel out of him."

"Nice job, Dylan," Jenny says. "Go make sure he doesn't crawl away, and we'll be right there."

I simply click the radio as confirmation and start walking towards the merc. He's sort of writhing on the ground, clutching at his leg.

"Shit, shit, won't stop bleeding," I hear him mutter as I get closer. "I'm gonna…son of a bitch!" He tries to stand up, but his leg gives out on him and he falls to the ground again.

"You'll be fine," I say, coming to stand in front of him. "If I had hit your femoral artery, you'd probably be dead already."

"Shit. I knew it wasn't berserkers. Not at range. You're mercs, or Alliance. I'm not…I'm not telling you anything."

"You know, you could still bleed out if you don't get that treated," I say in a flippant tone. "It just so happens that I could offer said treatment…if you cooperate." It's right about now that the others walk up.

The merc looks between me and the others, an agonized look on his face. Finally, he seems to realize that he's at our mercy. "Shit. Listen, I don't know anything. I just shoot whatever comes out of the labs. The old krogan up there has really been cleaning house lately. Jedore hired him to make her an army, but all the krogan he gives her are crazy. We use them as live ammo training."

"And what does Okeer think about all of that?" Jenny asks, taking over the questioning.

"I have no clue. We can't go in the labs. I only know what I've seen, and I've seen hundreds of mindless krogan come out of there. Whoever's up there knows what's going on."

"Is the lab heavily guarded?"

"We've got big guns to keep ships away," he says. "We're not prepared to fight fucking commandos."

Before Jenny can ask him another question, a voice comes over the merc's radio. "Outpost Four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that krogan pack." The merc gives a fearful look at Jenny. He seems unsure of what to say.

"If you want that leg to feel better, you'll get rid of your friends," she says, leaning in so they're face to face. "Understand?"

The merc gives a fearful nod before tabbing his radio. "Uh, patrol? The last group…dispersed. Lost sight five minutes ago."

"Dispersed? Jedore will be pissed. She wanted a show."

"You asked for a report, you got it. Dispersed."

"Understood. Returning to the labs." The radio clicks off, and the merc gives a small shake of his head.

"You see? I'm helping."

"Your assistance has been noted," Jenny says. Then she tosses a packet of medigel at his feet. "There, that should be enough to keep you alive." And with that, she walks off. The four of us quickly follow, leaving the injured merc to fend for himself.

Time to get us a krogan warlord.

**A/N: So there we go! The start of Korlus is all set. Next chapter we'll meet the warlord himself in addition to some good old fashioned action. **

**Before I leave you guys and gals, I actually have two (yes, two) story suggestions for you. The first one is a new SI that I've been beta-ing. It's called _Cause and Mass Effect_ by claihm solais. It's still pretty new, but CS has some awesome stuff planned. I might go as far as saying it's the best new SI. (New being the last few months.)**

**The other one is a story called __****Atonement Forsaken** by Fiery Hawk79. It's an origin story for the character Erash from _Masses to Masses 3_, and it shows definite promise. If you're a fan of MtM3 (and Erash), I'd give it a look-see.

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for now. Until next time, ta ta!**


	12. An Empty Room

**A/N: Hey folks. Sorry for the long delay, and even more sorry for the short chapter, but I'll explain everything down below. All of you have waited long enough for this chapter, so I'll just stop talking. Enjoy!**

**An Empty Room**

"That's the last of them," I say, lowering my Mattock and surveying the now-cleared outpost. This is the third one we've had to take care of on our way to the base itself, and according to a map of the area we found, we still have two more before we reach the outskirts of the lab.

I don't remember the approach being this lengthy in the game, but considering everything so far that isn't like the game, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You know, it's strange. I keep getting these situations that are _mostly_ like the game but with a few small changes. I wonder if that's simply because of my presence or the fact that this is real life, not a game. Well either way, I'm trying to wean myself off of relying on my knowledge. Seeing as I'll be blind once we finish the suicide mission, it's probably good to start now.

That's actually a scary thought, but Zaeed comes up and slaps my back before I can think about it further.

"Don't just stand there, rookie," he says. "We've still got two more guddamn outposts to clear. I'd like to finish this mission before I'm too old to spend the money."

"If you're gonna spend it all on booze and hookers, I'd skip the hookers and buy twice the booze," I say, turning to grin at him. "Even hookers have standards."

The merc narrows his eyes, giving his face a rather dangerous look to it. Maybe I went too far… "I've killed men for saying less," Zaeed whispers, getting right up in my face. "You're just lucky that I wouldn't get paid if I did something to you. Now let's just keep moving before something bad happens." He leans back and gives me one more dirty look before walking over to the exit of the outpost.

Ok… That was just a _tad_ terrifying. I guess I went a little too far with the banter. Note to self: Stay away from Zaeed for a while.

"What was that about?" Ian asks, suddenly appearing behind me. Holy crap! When did he get there?

"I think my banter backfired," I say, trying to mask my surprise at him being there. "Zaeed seems royally pissed at me. I thought we had a sort of dynamic going."

"He's a merc, Dylan. In fact, he's _the_ merc. Don't bother trying to make nice; he's not worth it."

Ok… That was the second bit of conversation I wasn't expecting. I mean, I guess Ian has no reason to like the guy who started the Blue Suns—and I probably shouldn't, either—but I know that Zaeed can be a decent guy. You know…when he's not blowing up refineries full of innocent workers.

"Hurry up back there," Jenny says, looking back at Ian and me from the exit. "We need to keep moving." Ian and I just look at each other and nod, meeting up with the others.

Our advance to the next outpost is exactly like the last three: slow, tense, and absolutely boring. For as cautious as we're being, we've never encountered a patrol between outposts. Hell, we haven't even seen any crazy krogan from the labs. But still, everyone knows that as soon as we _stop_ taking precautions, we'll run headlong into a patrol. So with that in mind, it's slow going. Ian routinely scouts ahead with his tac. cloak while the rest of us stay out of sight. When he gives the all clear, we dash to the next bit of cover. Rinse and repeat that process until we reach the next post.

Said outpost, however, offers a surprise: It's empty. Well, at least Ian can't see anyone around the perimeter. Not a sure sign that it's empty, but it's definitely strange.

"Hold here," Ian says over the radio. "I'll sneak in and check it out." Before Jenny can even give the OK, he's disappeared.

"Have you noticed a…change in Ian?" Jenny whispers to me as we wait for said Brit to report back. "He seems a lot more specialized than before."

"He would mention infiltration training when we talked on Omega," I say after reorganizing my thoughts. I thought she'd mention how he seems colder.

"Well good. I was never very proficient at infiltrating during training. Finding a hidden spot to take a shot was no problem, but as soon as I tried sneaking around hostiles, it never seemed to work." Huh…she's an infiltrator that can't infiltrate. How ironic.

"Then I guess Ian just has a knack for it. Or he had a really good trainer. Or both."

"Doesn't matter to me," she says. "I'm just glad we have an infiltration specialist."

"You guys might want to get in here," Ian says, ending our conversation about him. Jenny, Miranda, Zaeed, and I are out of cover and into the outpost quicker than I would have thought possible. Ian didn't sound worried at all, but the quicker we figure this situation out the better.

Despite our haste, we still take precautions. We stack up outside the door and breach into the outpost, Zaeed and I leading the way. We burst into the room, and I veer left, quickly scanning that side of the room. This side seems clear, so I turn my focus towards the center. Again, it looks empty.

Dafuq?

Suddenly, Ian appears off to one side, his cloak shimmering out. "That was a very nice breach, but totally unnecessary," he says. "This place is empty."

"What do you mean 'empty'?" Miranda asks, stepping further into the room.

"You know, empty. Vacant. Unoccupied. Barren. Get the picture?"

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I'm not saying it does," Ian says. "But it's true. I checked every room in this place, and there are no signs of anyone."

"Why would this outpost be here if no one planned to use it?" Jenny muses.

"Because the Suns are all guddamn idiots," Zaeed says. "They were probably too lazy to get off their asses and secure this position."

"Oh, it was secured at one point," Ian says. "Defensive positions all set up, a few heavy weapons set up, tons of ammo lying about. There was definitely a group of them here at one point, but there's no sign of them anymore. I didn't even see any signs of battle."

"Why the hell would they just leave a perfectly defensible position?" I ask, though I'm sure no one has an answer.

"I don't know, but nothing about this sits right with me," Jenny says. "Everyone be on high alert as we move to the next outpost. I smell a trap."

All of us give some sort of affirmative before forming up at the exit. As has become standard procedure, Ian cloaks and hustles out the door. Thus begins yet another round of leapfrogging to the next outpost. I really wish there was a better way to do this, but Ian's perfectly suited to scouting ahead. We reach the final outpost after a few minutes.

Ian rounds the corner to the base approach with his cloak active. "Well, you'll all be happy to hear that this one has people," he says after a few seconds. "No freaky shit this time."

"Alright Ian, you know what to—" Suddenly, everything cuts out. My vision goes pure white, and all audio input seems to be cut. As my panic starts to rise, the white slowly starts to drain away and the sound of my own breathing breaks through the silence.

I frantically start looking around, trying to figure out what happened. Jenny is still crouched next to me, and it looks like she's trying to tell me something. The only thing I can hear is me breathing. I hit the side of my mask with the base of my palm. What the hell is going on here?

That's when I notice something else: Where's my HUD? I don't see my shield display at the bottom of my vision or my radar off to the lower left. I lift up my left forearm to reboot the HUD from my omni-tool, but even that doesn't work. I look back up to see Jenny still trying to get my attention. Finally, she seems to get tired of it and just reaches up and takes my mask off.

"Can you hear me?" she practically yells once my mask is on the ground.

"Yes, and you don't have to shout," I say. "Now what the fuck happened?"

"The Suns used an EMP burst on us. Fried all our shields, sensors, omni-tools, basically anything that isn't a weapon." So that's what happened. I couldn't hear anything because my mask's audio sensors got shorted out. "So now we have no shields, no tech attacks, no radio, and Ian's currently pinned down." And now that she mentions that, I hear a whole lot of fire coming from around the corner.

"What she's trying to say is that we're fucked," Zaeed says from his own cover.

"I still have my biotics," Miranda says. "My amp is designed to withstand EMP attacks."

"Then as the only one with a second line of defense, you're our tank," Jenny says. "We need to take the pressure off Ian. Can you project a barrier as a sort of mobile shield?"

An unsure look crosses the Cerberus operative's face before being quickly replaced by staunch determination. "I can do it."

"We'll keep the fire off you as best as we can, but we need to act fast." Jenny looks around at the three of us. "Everyone ready?"

"Whenever Miranda is," I say, looking at her. Zaeed just nods.

"I'm ready."

With that, we all stand up and stack up behind Miranda. She takes a few deep breaths before setting herself. A faint blue glow surrounds her, and she slowly extends it out in front of her. With a final nod, she rounds the corner, Jenny, Zaeed, and I right behind her.

The scene we're met with is…less than ideal. I can see Ian pinned down behind a piece of cover about halfway to the outpost, and the rest of the approach is rather empty. There are a few small crates that one of us could hide behind, but they're so few and far between that it doesn't much matter.

As soon as we entered into view, an appreciable fraction of the enemy fire comes our way. I can see the bullets impacting Miranda's barrier, and I swear I can almost hear her grunt with every impact. She just keeps a steady advance, though, and the three of us following her, occasionally leaning out to take a few shots at the mercs. Any shots we do take, however, impact their shields. How the hell are theirs still working? Maybe all their stuff was hardened against EMP attacks? Or it was a directional attack? Well, however they did it, they still have shields.

"Shepard!" Ian yells to us over the din of battle. "I recognized that EMP blast! It was a small one, so our equipment should come back online in about five minutes!"

"Thanks for the info!" she yells back. "Just keep your head down till everything's working again!"

"I don't know if I can hold this for five minutes, Commander," Miranda says through clenched teeth.

"Well maybe you won't have to," Jenny says. "Zaeed, break off at the next cover we pass. I'll take the next bit. Dylan, I want you to follow Miranda all the way to the base. You two are taking it out."

…

Uhh…what? Wait, she wants us to…?

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Commander?" Miranda manages to ask.

"If we just sit here, we're gonna get slaughtered."

"And if I try to go in there without shields, _I'm_ gonna get slaughtered," I say.

"Dylan, there's no other option," she says, switching to full command voice. "You will take that outpost because I know you can."

And there it is. She's giving me that look. How the hell can I say no to that look? Well I'll tell ya how!

"Alright. I'll do my best." Turns out I can't. She rewards me with one of her glowing smiles.

"Then let's not waste any more time. My cover is coming up. Good luck." And with that, she darts off behind a small piece of rubble, leaving me here with Miranda, ready to assault a merc outpost by ourselves.

Just fucking wonderful.

**A/N: Yes, it's a cliffhanger. Kind of. And that makes what I'm about to say even harder for me.**

**I'm taking a hiatus from writing. I'm leaving for Vanderbilt on Thursday, and I've always made it clear that education comes before WttF. The first few weeks of college are critical, so I want to make sure that I have a nice routine in place before I start writing again. Whether I'm gone for a week or a month, I can't say. So I ask all of my faithful readers to be patient while I enter the next stage of my life.**

**As far as the delay for this chapter, I blame a combination of work and lack of inspiration. I was planning on giving you wonderful people a full chapter, but I knew that I couldn't get it done before leaving. And so I felt that a half-chapter now and a half-chapter later would be preferable.**

**Anywho, thank you all for your patience, both now and in the weeks to come. This story is definitely not over. I cannot stress this enough. _I am not stopping this story_. I'm just taking a break while my life sorts itself out. Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	13. Let's Get Off This Shithole

**A/N: I'm baaack! And it only took about three weeks. So yeah, I kinda left you guys and gals on a bit of a cliffhanger last chapter, so I'll save stuff for the end. Enjoy!**

**Let's Get Off This Shithole**

"Is there any way you can fire a gun while keeping this shield up?" I ask Miranda as we continue our steady advance towards the merc outpost. We've got about ten meters left to the door, and I'm trying to think of ways to breach this place without getting my ass shot to pieces.

"There really isn't," she says between clenched teeth. "I'm doing all I can to keep this barrier in place and keep you alive."

"Just had to ask. So any ideas on how to clear this base?" Because honestly, I have no freaking clue. We're outnumbered, outgunned, and out-shielded. The only real thing we have going for us is Miranda's biotics. The Suns aren't notorious for employing biotics, so maybe that'll give us an edge.

In theory, that is.

"I have any number of ideas to clear an outpost like this." Wow, really? Damn, I guess there's a reason she's one of Cerberus' top agents. "Unfortunately, none of them would work in our situation."

And the other shoe drops. God damn it. Well…this might not be a very fun objective.

"Wonderful," I mutter, unable to help myself.

"I don't hear you coming up with any good ideas," she shoots back.

"That's because I don't have any. But we need to come up with something fast; we've only got a few more meters." And it's true. The doorway is slowly getting closer. If we want to make it out of there alive, we need to think of something.

"I have a flashbang grenade that the EMP burst wouldn't have affected. When we reach the door, I'll throw it in. Anyone without the proper gear will be blinded, giving us a few seconds to clear the main room."

…

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?" I ask after a heavy pause.

"I wanted to eliminate any other option. Like I said, the flashbang will only work if they're not wearing helmets. So even in a best case scenario, there will still be a few Suns unaffected."

"Then we shoot them first," I say, surprising myself at how coldly it comes out.

"Agreed," she says with a small nod.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we reached the entrance to the outpost. Luckily, the Suns can't get an angle to shoot down at us, so we can take a short moment to catch our breath and prepare for what will probably be one of the worst things I've had to do in a long time. If Ian was right, we still have another four minutes before our shields and equipment recovers from the EMP, but we can't spend that whole time waiting outside the door; the mercs would surely come out and deal with us before then. Or the others would die. Or both. So I guess Miranda and I are stuck on our course.

"Ready?" I ask after about fifteen seconds.

"Let's go," she says determinately.

With those two words, our fate—for better or worse—is sealed.

She removes the flashbang from her belt and pulls the proverbial pin. Technically, she presses a button, but it does the same thing: primes the grenade and starts the timer. She holds on to it for almost a full second before rolling it into the room. I hear a few startled shouts as some of the mercs realize what we're doing, but that's quickly drowned out by the incredible noise created by the grenade. Damn, they don't call it a flashbang for nothing.

Miranda is the first one through the door, rushing in almost before the residual light and echo go away. Her biotics are primed, and her SMG is ready to go. I'm inside a half second after her, my Mattock shouldered and my finger on the trigger.

Miranda chose to go left, and I see her fling some biotic attack before I turn to face what awaits me on the right. Three Suns are doubled over, screaming and clutching at their eyes and ears. Two more, however, have helmets on and have already started moving back from the door. All pretense of accuracy or finesse goes out the window as I pull the trigger as fast as I possibly can. In less than five seconds, I empty my thermal clip—all sixteen rounds—into the helmeted merc on the right.

It took the first ten shots to break his shields, but I'm not sure how many of those actually hit him. Like I said, accuracy isn't really a focus right now. Of the final six shots, I clearly see four of them punch through his armor, all center mass. The mercenary falls backward to the ground, four new holes in his chest.

As I reach for a new thermal clip from my belt, the second helmeted merc begins firing at me. There's really nothing in here that I can use for cover, meaning I'm screwed unless this guy is a terrible shot. Even then, we're so close that at least some of his shots are bound to hit me. The first three rounds out of his Avenger all score a glancing hit on my armor; none of them penetrate, but each one left behind a small gouge in the ceramic plates.

Before he can fire any more shots, however, the Sun is covered by a rapidly shifting biotic field. He falls to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. Instinct kicks in. I quickly pop in the new heat sink and promptly empty it into the enemy. He doesn't get back up.

By this time, the mercs affected by the flashbang have stopped screaming, but they still haven't really recovered any of their sight or hearing. Now that the helmeted mercs are dead, it's time to deal with them. Speed is of the essence, and if they're all shielded, I can't waste any time bringing said shields down. So I decide to bypass them all together.

My hand goes to the side of my boot and comes back up with my Bowie knife. Kinetic shields are only designed to stop bullets; they won't do anything to stop a knife.

The merc closest to me dies before he knew I was near him. The thin armor around the neck did nothing to stop a thrust from the side. It might have severed his spinal cord. I quickly pull my knife from the now-dead merc and move on to the next one. This guy must have recovered enough vision or hearing to detect my approach, but I easily get past his sloppy defenses. A quick thrust up from under the jaw ends his life. The final Sun actually managed to draw his gun, but I'm so close to him that it's useless. Echoing Omega, I push his gun arm up into the air, exposing his armpit. A knife thrust through the natural weakness penetrates his heart.

And just like that, it's over. In slightly less than a minute, I've killed five men. It sure is a far cry from when I first got here. Part of me laments over my loss of innocence, but other parts say that I did what I had to do to survive. I can't say I like that rationalization, but it really is them or me. And I have stuff yet to do here.

"Come on. We don't have time to waste," Miranda says, walking up next to me. "We still have the upper floor." She starts to walk towards the staircase, but I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. The operative turns around and gives me a quizzical look.

"Thanks for warping that merc back there," I say. "I would have died otherwise."

"I only had one on the left wearing a helmet. While I may not approve of you being here, I couldn't let you die."

"Well it's nice to know you care at least that much." I shoot her a small grin. In response, she just rolls her eyes at me.

"Come on, we've wasted enough time down here," she says, turning back towards the staircase. It's a good thing she did; otherwise, she might have killed me when she saw my grin get bigger.

"Aye aye, ma'am," I say, moving to join her at the base of the steps. When I get next to her, however, a small burst of fire goes between us. We quickly split to take cover on either side of the staircase.

I look across the gap that separates us and give her a questioning look. I really have no idea how we're getting up these stairs. In response to my silent question, she quickly flares her biotics. Huh? I cock my head to the side, unsure of what she's suggesting. She rolls her eyes and projects the barrier from our approach for a brief moment. Oh, she wants to go up first with the barrier in place. Considering there's only one direction the enemy can shoot from, it's a good idea.

I nod, and any hint of irritation she might have shown at my incomprehension vanishes, replaced by the same determined look from before. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath before putting the barrier in place. With confidence I don't think I could match, she starts walking up the stairs while I follow closely behind.

Just like the approach to the outpost, I swear I can see shots impacting her barrier, and I'm almost certain that she grunts a little with each one. From what I can see, there are only two Suns at the top of the steps, but for all I know, there could be a dozen more hiding behind them. I guess there's no getting around that.

When Miranda reaches the top of the steps, she does something that I didn't know was possible. She uses her barrier like a physical shield and bashes the guy on the right into the far wall. I think I hear something crunch…

The sudden crushing of his buddy makes the remaining Sun look away from the stairs, making it almost too easy to remove him from the picture. I quickly scan the rest of the area, but it's empty on my side. The lack of gunfire seems to indicate that it's vacant on Miranda's side, too. Sparing a quick look around, I see that this room is little more than a place for the stairs to lead to. Besides the stairs, the only exit leads to the walls, and a quick examination of them turns up no more enemies. Well, live ones, at least. There are a few with some rather prominent new holes in their heads, most likely a gift from Jenny or Ian.

Well it looks like the outpost is finally clear. By my estimates, we should be getting our electronics back in about…two minutes. I look out over the area we came from and see Jenny and Zaeed standing by Ian, who still hasn't moved from the spot he was pinned at. They're about thirty meters out and right in the center of the path.

Now that I know they're all fine, my eyes start to wander, idly observing the rather dull surroundings. Honestly, you see one junk pile, you've seen them all. There's nothing all that special, just brown, brown, a white speck, and more brown. It makes me think why anyone would want to set up a base here. I guess this place is such a shithole that no one would think to really look around.

…

Wait, what was that about a white speck? I quickly glance back to where I think it was. Same dull brown as before. Well what the hell? Maybe clearing this outpost took more out of me than I thought. Oh well, I guess I'm just seeing things. Right as I'm about to look away, it pops up again. I focus on the speck, but from what I can tell, it's at least a hundred meters out; I can't make out much detail. As I continue to stare at it, it seems to…rotate? It sort of angles down before blinking out of sight. A few seconds later, it glints back.

Wait a minute…glint?

…

"Jenny!" I yell before my brain finishes processing what my eyes already know. Hearing my cry, she turns towards the outpost and looks up at me. She smiles and waves at me. "Jenny! Get dow—"

A spurt of blood suddenly erupts from her shoulder, making her lurch forward a bit. Even from this distance, I can see her eyes widen as she looks down. Slowly, she sinks to her knees before collapsing to the ground.

"—n!"

_BANG!_

I don't actually remember what happens for the next thirty seconds or so. The next thing I know, I'm kneeling at Jenny's side while the others start fanning out.

Oh god…there's so much blood. Despite almost a year and a half at the clinic, I'm still uncomfortable seeing a lot of blood up close. Somehow, she's still conscious, but she seems in shock. She keeps trying to push herself back to her feet, but her right arm won't move because of the wound.

"Jenny, stop moving," I say in as soothing a voice as I can muster. "I can't help you if you keep trying to get up." She doesn't seem to take any notice of my words. "Jenny, you have to stop moving." Still nothing. Damn it, she's definitely in shock right now. I know that words won't do anything in her current state, so I place a hand on her back to keep her from trying to get up.

She slowly looks up at me with unfocused eyes, but she seems to calm down. Well, at least she stops squirming.

"You're gonna be ok, Jenny," I say, opening my small medical pouch and removing a tube of medi-gel. I gently apply the wonderful salve to the entry and exit wounds. Almost instantly, the gel seals itself to the wound, stopping the bleeding and preventing any contaminants from entering the injury. And just to be on the safe side, I wrap her shoulder in gauze. With everything covered, I gently roll her onto her back.

"Alright, Jenny, you're all patched up. Now just take it easy and let the medi-gel do its job."

With that same dazed look in her eyes, she looks up at me. "Dylan? Is that you?" she asks quietly. "What happened?"

"Yes, it's me, Jenny," I say, smiling down at her. "As to what happened… You were shot."

"I thought we got all the Suns."

"There was a sniper about a hundred meters out. I think the others went to go find him."

"But you didn't," she mutters. Huh? Why would she say that?

"I'm the medic," I say, my confusion apparent in my tone of voice. "Patching you up is my job."

"Well I'm glad you're here." She lifts up her left arm towards me. I really don't think she should be moving much—if any—so I gently take her hand and lower it. I stay there by her side, holding her hand, for about ten minutes until the others get back.

By now, our electronics have come back online, including the medical interface in Jenny's armor. With that back up and running—in addition to my treatment beforehand—she's feeling much better by the time the others return. Hell, with the exception of not being able to move her right arm, I'd almost say she's combat-ready again. I still plan to give her another five minutes at least. Then I'll leave it up to her.

"Good to see you up and about, Shepard," Ian says as he, Miranda, and Zaeed return from their sweep of the area. I had let her sit up a few minutes ago. "Looks like Dylan knows what he's doing after all."

"And boy, am I glad for that," she says, smiling at me. "So tell me what happened after the shot."

"Seeing the hit and hearing the shot gave me a fairly good indication of where the shooter was," Ian explains. "The guy must have been an amateur because I saw the scope glint that Dylan probably noticed. He was taking his sweet time moving, so I decided to return the favor. Unlike him, though, I know how to score a kill-shot."

"By that time, Dylan and I had arrived," Miranda says, deciding to take over the story. "While he stayed here to tend to you, Ian, Zaeed, and I decided to sweep the area for any other hostiles."

"Were there anymore?" Jenny asks.

"No more live ones, at least," Zaeed says with a smirk. "We found about a half a dozen dead Suns lying around. Couldn't be sure what killed 'em, but dead is dead. Area's clear."

"Are you fit to continue the mission, Commander?" Miranda asks. "Do you want me to call the Normandy down for a medevac?"

"I'll be fine, Miranda," she says, dismissively waving with her good hand. "I know how to shoot left-handed." Miranda's expression clearly shows that she's skeptical. She looks at me.

"Should I call the Normandy?"

"She's in no need of immediate surgery," I say. "The bullet passed straight through. Tissue damage is minimal, and as long as Chakwas gets her in the med bay in the next few hours, any damage can be easily fixed."

"In other words, I'll be fine," Jenny says. As if to express her point, she gets to her feet and draws her Predator pistol with her left hand. "Now let's get going. The faster we get Okeer, the faster I can get to the med bay."

"Fine," the operative says. "But once we're back on the Normandy, you're seeing Dr. Chakwas first thing."

"Of course, Miranda. Now let's move out; same tactics as before." We all give an affirmative and continue our trek to find Okeer.

* * *

Well here we are. We _finally_ made it to Okeer's lab. Once we got away from that one outpost, all the firefights seemed to get easier. I guess it was all a matter of perspective. Taking that base was probably one of the toughest, most terrifying things I've had to do; compared to that, fighting a few Suns at a time with full shields was nothing. I could see Jenny having some problems due to the injury, but I was keeping a close watch on her the whole time; she was never in any real danger of aggravating the wound.

True to the game (which is becoming increasingly rare), we met Rana Thanoptis, the asari scientist from Virmire. She expressed the usual surprise at Jenny being alive and tried to explain how she wasn't wasting the second chance she got. Jenny just rolled her eyes and told the asari to get out.

So now we're here, standing in front of the door to Okeer's lab. Zaeed and I, as the two tanks of the squad, are the first ones in the room. It's a large room, but for supposedly being Okeer's main lab, it seems rather empty. And there off to the right is Okeer, standing at a terminal. More importantly, he's standing next to the pod which contains Grunt.

"It's about time," the old warlord says, looking over his shoulder at us. His voice is similar to Wrex's, but it lacks that gruffness that our old friend has. "I've been monitoring your progress. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with these idiotic mercs."

"You must be Okeer," Jenny says, walking to the front of the group. "You don't seem particularly caged…or grateful that I'm here."

"You may claim to be here not help, but the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change." The old warlord pauses to turn and face us. "Surprised? All krogan should know you. Or have you forgotten your actions on Virmire?" For the briefest instant, I'm back on Virmire: infiltrating the base, meeting Sovereign, planting the bomb, and…Ash. It all comes flooding back, but I manage to suppress it. That's in the past.

"I've sure tried my best," Jenny says in a surprisingly cold voice. "I lost a friend that day because I had to destroy that damn facility. I'm not about to have you tell me that was the wrong thing to do."

"But I approve," Okeer says, making a conciliatory gesture. "Saren's pale horde were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider, one that these mercenaries have also made. I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

"We're here about the Collectors," Miranda says. "We couldn't care less about your problems."

"I see. Yes, Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." He gestures to the tank containing Grunt. "I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict upon the genophage the greatest insult and enemy can suffer: to be ignored."

"I can't say I agree with your methods, but I suppose that's irrelevant," Jenny says. "All that matters right now is whether or not you'll join me."

"Perhaps I can strike a deal to secure passage," he says thoughtfully. "But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to my legacy."

Before Jenny can answer, Jedore's voice comes over the loudspeaker. "Attention! I have traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course. I'm calling 'blank slate' on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!" Suddenly, the pipes all throughout the room start hissing as steam begins to shoot out.

"She's that weak willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve!" Okeer turns back to Jenny. "Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

"You better keep your side of the bargain, Okeer," Jenny says.

"Your implied threat does you credit, Shepard. You have my word. Now go! My legacy must not suffer this insult. Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. Kill her. I will…stay and do what must be done." With that, he turns back to his console and starts typing away. The five of us share a look before heading out to face Jedore.

I'm not really ready for what happens when we reach her.

"I don't care who you are, you're going to die," she says when we enter the room. Before any shooting happens, though, Zaeed speaks up.

"Jedore? Is that really you?" the old merc asks. "Last I remember, you were a sweet little girl, not a complete bitch."

… Dafuq?

"Who the fuck do you think you are, old man?"

"You mean you don't remember old Uncle Zaeed? You used to sit on my knee while your dad and I talked shop."

That seems to shock her. "Zaeed? What the fuck? You must have some pretty big balls to come storming into a Suns base after you betrayed Vido."

"Oh, so I betrayed Vido?" he says, voice dropping dangerously low. Oh boy…this might not end well. "Then I'll let you be there to greet him in hell."

In a single fluid movement, Zaeed aims his rifle and fires a single shot. It misses her.

But it doesn't miss the fusion cell behind her.

Once my vision returns after the blinding explosion, the full extent of the damage becomes apparent. There's nothing left. Jedore is just gone.

After a slightly awkward silence in which all of us stare at Zaeed, Jenny finally speaks up.

"Zaeed, while that saved us a lot of time, please try to warn me when you're about to do something like that. Also, we're having a little talk when we get back to the Normandy."

"Whatever," he says. "Let's just get that guddamn krogan and get of this shithole."

"I recommend haste," EDI says over the squad channel. "I have detected alarms in the lab that coincide with a system failure. According to scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's life signs are falling rapidly. I am in the process of venting the lab."

"You heard EDI," Jenny says. "Let's get moving!" Without another word, the five of us sprint back to Okeer's lab.

But it's too late. The door opens, and Okeer's lifeless body lies in front of his terminal.

**A/N: Yay! Korlus is finally done! And no cliffhanger this time! Though I will have you know that I very well could have ended with one. The only thing that saved you guys was not wanting to write _another_ chapter of Korlus.**

**So yeah, I think I'm pretty well settled in here at college. I'm really loving it, but I have no doubt that updates are gonna get slower. My goal is to try and get one chapter every two weeks. No clue if that'll work, but I'm gonna try.**

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for this chapter. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	14. An Important Call

**A/N: So, uh...hi. I know it's been over a month, which means I'll save excuses for the end. Enjoy!**

**An Important Call**

"Bringing the krogan in for study makes sense, but I have concerns about waking it," Miranda says, crossing her arms. We just got back onboard the Normandy with Grunt, and Jenny, Ian, Miranda, and I are in the conference room for debriefing. Zaeed probably should be here, but he just sort of went back to his room. No one thought to tell him he shouldn't do that.

"You made your opinion very well-known while we were waiting for pick up, Miranda," I say, looking at her across the table. I probably shouldn't be actively trying to annoy her, but I just can't help it when she gets like this.

"It never hurt to have a krogan on the team," Ian says. "Wrex was bloody useful when we took down Saren."

"A normal krogan is dangerous as it is. This one was created, and likely educated, by a madman. We have no idea what it could do if we wake it."

"I don't think now is the right time to make a decision on this," Jenny says, speaking up for the first time since we got back. "None of us are feeling 100% after that mission, and I think we'll make a better, more thought out decision after we unwind. And after I see Chakwas." That last part is said with a look directed at me.

"I agree. We don't need to make a decision now, and Jenny does need to see the doctor."

"We can continue this after you've recovered, Commander," Miranda says. "I'm sure the Illusive Man would like to know about the situation before a choice is made." For some reason, I glance at Ian when she mentions TIM, and he just rolls his eyes. Hopefully we can break Miranda of his influence before this mission is over.

"I'm sure he would," Jenny mutters. "Alright, you all did a wonderful job today. Dismissed."

Miranda, Ian, and I exit the conference room, and the two of them turn towards the armory. For some reason, however, I turn to exit through the lab. The door opens, and I see Mordin working away at his desk. He looks up at the sound of my entrance.

"Ah, Dylan. Heard of exploits on Korlus," he says. "Did well given circumstances."

"Whoa, how do you know what happened on the mission already?" I ask, stopping and giving him a surprised look. "We just got back."

"Pilot gave progress reports to ground team. Observed through various armor cameras. Use of EMP was unexpected, but casualties kept to minimum. Very well done." He pauses and gives me one of his trademark smiles. "Glad to see you paid attention at clinic. Likely saved Shepard's life."

"Thanks, doc. I learned from the best." Even after a year and a half, I still love getting compliments from Mordin. He was one of those tough teachers who forced you to constantly push the limits of what you could do. The work was hard, but that just made the successes even better. "So how are you settling in, Mordin? Quite a change from the clinic, right?"

"Forgot benefits of working on well-funded project. Haven't had such access since days in STG."

"So you _were_ in STG," I say with a smile. "Vi and I had a bet going about that. I'll have to tell her she won." Yes, yes, I let her win the bet. I didn't want to use my knowledge to swindle her out of money.

"Air of mystery important at clinic," he says. "Keeping Suns in the dark increased security."

"Makes sense, I suppose. Anything that kept those bastards off us is ok with me. I guess I should be honored that you would tell me this at all."

"No reason to keep secret now. Also felt you deserved to know. Faithful worker at clinic, now on same squad."

Wow. Is that his way of saying he trusts me? I mean, he trusted me to treat people at the clinic, but I always figured that was his trust in my skills, not me. Mordin seems like one of those people who doesn't give out trust easily.

"Thank you, Mordin. That means a lot coming from you. So do you mind me asking what kind of stuff you did in STG?"

"Studied genophage," he says simply. "Several recon missions to krogan planets, collecting water and tissue samples. Served under young captain named Kirrahe."

"Wait, you worked with Kirrahe? He was on Virmire. Came up with the plan that destroyed the facility." And that killed Ash. I quickly repress that line of thought. It wasn't Kirrahe's fault that she died. It was Saren's. It was the Reapers'.

"Heard he was part of that," Mordin says. "Jury rigged explosive? Always good at getting job done with limited resources. Good captain." There's a distinct pause. "Bit of a cloaca, though."

For some reason, I can't help but laugh. Just the way he says it seems to strike a chord in me. "I didn't have a chance to get to know him, seeing as there were bullets flying, so I'll just take your word," I say, regaining my composure.

We lapse into silence for a bit, though he never stops working. There's something almost hypnotic in the way he moves around the lab table. I'm always amazed at how efficient he is. After a few minutes, the silence gets a little awkward with him working and me just standing here. I feel like I should leave.

"Hey, I'm gonna head out. I should get out of my armor and check in to make sure Jenny's ok."

"Certain she's fine, but understand desire to check up," he says. "Will stay here. Keep working on Collector samples."

"Hope your breakthrough comes soon," I say, walking out the door and thinking about how close we are to Horizon. We only need to pick up Kasumi and Jack. And that's assuming we pick up Kasumi at all. I just figure that because we have Zaeed, we'll have Kasumi, too.

That's actually kind of scary to think about. We're getting closer and closer to Horizon with every day. That's not exactly the best mission. Not only does half the freaking colony get taken, but there's also the meeting with Kaidan. Damn, I'm not looking forward to that. I love Kaidan like a brother, but if he makes me choose between him and Jenny, my answer's clear.

But why do I have to choose?

No, that's too simple to work. I couldn't just magically make Kaidan understand. At least not on Horizon.

But I do have his contact info…

…

No… That couldn't work. Could it? If I could sort of ease into telling him that Jenny's alive, maybe he wouldn't freak out on Horizon. Maybe I could also sneak in a warning about the Collectors.

Damn, the more I think about this, the more I think it's a good idea. But what could this change about canon? Kaidan would actually trust Jenny instead of thinking of her as a traitor. She wouldn't have to waste time trying to earn his trust back after the suicide mission. Maybe he could even help her after the events of Arrival—assuming they happen like they did in game.

That all assumes I succeed. And if I fail…well I don't think it would make things worse. In fact, it might help even if I fail to fully convince him. At least seeing us on Horizon wouldn't be out of nowhere.

I can't believe I've actually decided to do this. Then again, if there's anything that I can change about canon that probably won't have negative effects, it's this. Now I just need to figure out how to tell Kaidan. Should I send him a message? I feel like that's too impersonal for this kind of thing. Information like this is something that should be done through at least a phone call—preferably a video call. I should ask Jenny about using the comm. room later.

And for some reason, I just now realize that I've been standing in front of the armory door like an idiot for almost a minute. Man, sometimes it sucks having an internal monologue. Deciding to think about Kaidan later, I walk into the armory to finally get my gear off. Looking around, I'm kind of glad that Jacob isn't in here. Not really in the mood to talk to him right now.

Ten minutes later, I step onto deck three wearing my normal jeans and t-shirt. I'm absolutely famished after the mission, so I round the corner into the mess hall. It's surprisingly empty, though I guess it is sort of between normal meals. Still, I see Garrus and Joker, of all people, sitting at a table and just talking.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" I ask, walking up to the table.

"Just calculated our route back to the Citadel, so I'm letting Hawthorne do the rest," Joker says. "Watching you guys down on Korlus made _me_ tired." That earns a small chuckle from Garrus.

"Yeah? Now imagine how I must feel. I'm gonna go see if Rupert has anything edible for me."

"Good luck with that," Garrus mutters, sending Joker into a fit of laughter. I just smile and shake my head while I walk over to Gardner's mini-kitchen.

"Well you must be Dylan Owens," he says as I approach. I still can't believe that Udina's voice actor also played Gardner. Udina's voice makes me want to punch babies, but I actually like Gardner's. Life can be weird like that. "Name's Rupert Gardner. I make the food and do all the other jobs no one else wants to do."

"Nice to meet you, Rupert," I say, giving him a handshake. "Though mind if I ask how you knew me?"

"I knew you were part of the squad, but I'd never seen you before. Since I know everyone else on this ship, I figured it was you. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I'm starving, Rupert. Got anything to fix that?" He just gives me a grin and lifts a tray with a bowl of…something on it.

"Spaghetti and meat sauce," he says, handing me the tray. Oh…so that's what that is. Alright, well how can you mess up spaghetti? This should be fine.

I nod my thanks and go sit down with Joker and Garrus.

"Do I even want to know what that is?" Joker asks, looking at my tray.

"It's apparently spaghetti and meat sauce," I say. Joker's silent for a moment, looking back and forth between me and the food.

"Are you sure it's not puke mixed with blood?"

…

"Well, thanks for ruining that meal for me, Joker. If I didn't know it'd break you ten ways to Sunday, I'd punch you."

"Wow, for once I'm glad to be a cripple," he says, giving me his signature smirk.

"Remember that the med bay is right there," I say, smirking back at him. "I still might punch you."

"Garrus would protect me, right?" He looks over at the turian in question.

"You mean with the pole I took out of my ass?" Garrus asks with a droll smile. Joker's eyes widen, and I start busting a gut. I can't believe Garrus just called him out on that!

"How did you hear about that already?" Joker asks. "You've only been onboard for like two days!"

"I was a vigilante on Omega, Joker. I know how to get information."

"Yeah, that was the second rule of Omega," I say with a smile. "Don't fuck with Archangel."

"Bad things did tend to happen to those who tried," he says, returning my smile.

"Man, you guys never let me have any fun," Joker says, trying to look pouty. It doesn't really work.

"You can always make fun of someone else," I say. "Miranda?"

"You think I'd be that stupid?" Garrus and I laugh. "She'd probably rip my dick off if I said anything out of line." That makes us laugh even harder.

As our laughter dies away, the door to the med bay opens and Jenny walks out. Her right arm is in a sling to prevent her from moving it after the gunshot. Thank god for ME medicine; from what I remember of medicine back in my time (which isn't much), a shoulder wound would have been much worse. But she seems to have gotten off relatively easy.

She looks around the mess hall and sees the three of us sitting at the table. "Dylan, could you come with me?" she asks, walking up to the table.

"Sure," I say, pushing away the food that I hadn't touched and standing up. "Wasn't really that hungry. So where we going?"

"We're gonna go wake our krogan friend." With that statement, she turns and walks towards the elevator, not even waiting to see if I'm following. I am, obviously, but still.

"So what made you decide now?" I ask once we're in the elevator. "And does Miranda know you're doing this?"

"I figure we can use any help we can get," she says. "Besides, if this krogan really is all Okeer hyped him up to be, he should be an amazing asset. As far as Miranda goes, I haven't told her, but I'm sure the Illusive Man will agree with me anyway."

I laugh. "Works for me. Last question: Why am I coming along?"

"If you haven't noticed, my arm's in a sling. On the chance that this krogan gets violent, I wouldn't be able to handle him as well as normal."

"So I'm there in case things get out of hand. Because we both know I have a _wonderful_ track record with violent krogan." Now it's her turn to laugh.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," she says, giving me a reassuring pat on the back. "Besides, you'll have a pistol, and he won't." She hands me the pistol that was on her hip. Just then, the elevator stops, and the door opens. The two of us walk over to the storage room we're keeping Grunt in and stop right in front of his tank.

Man, even when he's just floating there, Grunt is a very imposing figure. Even with a gun in my hand, I would not want to fight him. Ever.

"How's our guest doing, EDI," Jenny asks to the open room.

"All of his vital signs are strong," she says. "There are enough nutrients in the tank to keep him alive almost indefinitely."

"Well that won't be necessary. We're opening the tank."

"Commander, Cerberus has very clear regulations about—"

"I know that, EDI. But I'm in charge of this ship. I have the final say, and I'm prepared to face any consequences of my actions."

There's a lengthy pause after Jenny's statement. I wasn't expecting her to be that…adamant about it being her choice. But I guess with all the shit she's been going through since coming back, she needs to feel in control sometimes.

"The tank controls are yours, Commander."

"Thank you, EDI," she says, stepping up to the tank. Meanwhile, I ready my pistol. I don't want to appear hostile, but I also need to make it clear that he shouldn't try anything. So for right now, I simply flip the safety off, but keep it pointed towards the floor.

Jenny fiddles with the controls for a few moments before definitively pressing one of the larger buttons. She steps back as a pneumatic hiss fills the room. The door of the tank opens up, flooding the room with the liquid that Grunt was suspended in. As gravity takes over his body, Grunt falls to his knees on the floor. His piercing blue eyes open as he coughs up whatever amount of liquid was in his lungs.

Wow, even on his knees, he's as tall as Jenny. Now he slowly starts to stand up. Wow…he's pretty tall. I'd almost say he's as tall as Wrex. His eyes take in his surroundings, lingering a bit longer on me and Jenny. With a slight narrowing of his eyes, he suddenly charges forward at me. I raise my pistol to try and get some shots off, but he covers the distance between us before I have a chance.

His right forearm slams into my upper chest, knocking the wind out of me and making me drop my pistol. His arm keeps moving, lifting me up into the air and pinning me against the wall. A very loud silence follows as the echoes of the impact die away.

"Human. Male. Before I kill you, I need a name." And there's Steve Blum.

"Dylan Owens," I manage to say. Considering I have a fully sized krogan pinning me to a wall, I'm surprised I can even breathe.

"Not yours, human," he almost spits. "Mine. I am trained. I know things, but the tank… Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow." He pauses, grumbling to himself in a voice I can't really hear. Despite that, his eyes never leave mine. "Grunt… 'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"I'm not in command here, Grunt. She's behind you."

He rotates his body to look behind him, all the while keeping me pinned against the wall. With his face out of the way, I can see Jenny calmly standing there, just out of his reach. Only thing is, she's not holding the pistol I dropped. Uhh…

"Stand down, Grunt," she says in full command voice. "I don't want to have to kill you."

"Your hesitation to kill makes you weak."

"No Grunt. I'll kill you without a second thought if I have to, but I think we can help each other."

"You claim you can kill me, yet you carry no weapon," he mutters. "Such confidence is earned, not created." He switches back to his normal voice. "How could you possibly help me, human?"

"You're a warrior with no one to fight," Jenny says, still sounding as calm as could be. "I have one of the most worthy opponents in this galaxy but not enough warriors to fight them. If you accept my command, you'll be in for the best fight of your life."

"If you or your clan is weak, I'll have to kill you."

"Trust me, Grunt. You'll never fight with a stronger group of people."

"Hmm… Strange that a human knows so much of our ways," he mutters again. Then he goes back to a normal voice. "Your terms are…acceptable. I'll fight for you, human. Just make sure we don't run out of enemies."

"I'm glad you saw reason," Ian says, suddenly shimmering into view next to Grunt and holding a pistol to the side of his head.

…

What the fuck?! When did he get here?

Grunt appears to be thinking the same thing. He looks over at Ian then back to Jenny. Then he laughs. The bastard _laughs_.

"Offer one hand, but arm the other." He finally releases me, letting me slide down to the ground. "Maybe I'll have more fun here than I thought." And with that, he walks over to stand in front of his tank.

Jenny walks over to help me up, and the two of us and Ian walk out of the room. Once we're out of the room, I stop and look at Jenny.

"Did you know about him?" I ask, pointing at Ian.

"Of course she did," Ian answers for her. "Who do you think asked me to be in there?"

"And you didn't feel like telling me about it? I was close to crapping my pants in there!"

"I figured the less people that knew about him, the better," she says. "Besides, it all worked out."

"Though you really need to stop hugging krogan, mate," Ian says with one of his classic grins. "You may like them, but they don't seem to like you."

"Shut up." That just makes them laugh. They're still kind of chuckling when we get into the elevator.

"So do you two have plans on how to spend the trip to the Citadel?" Jenny asks after a bit.

"I'm probably gonna grab some food and go to bed," Ian says. Jenny just nods then looks over at me with a questioning look.

You know, I hadn't really thought of it. Though now that I do, I realize that this might be the perfect time to act on what I was thinking of earlier.

"I was actually wondering if I could use the comm. room to make a call," I say. "It's kind of important, and I don't want to risk my omni-tool messing anything up."

"Sure," she says. "But I might need it later, so just be ready to get out of there if I need you to."

"That's fine."

The elevator finally stops on deck three, and Jenny and Ian both step out to do whatever. I stay on and continue up to deck two. Luckily, no one stops me on my way to the comm. room.

I walk in, unsure of how to go about doing this. I still have no idea what I'm even gonna say to him. Maybe I just start it as a friendly call to an old friend and see where it goes. I can probably find a way to steer the conversation towards Shepard and the Normandy.

It would probably be a good idea to check if he's even available to talk right now. Opening up my contact list, I find Kaidan's name and start typing out a message.

_Hey, Kaidan, it's Dylan. It seems like I haven't talked to you in forever. Would you be free to video call in the next half hour or so?_

Not knowing what else to say, I just press send and start waiting. A few minutes pass, and I start fiddling with my omni-tool, trying to pass the time. After a few more minutes, it beeps, and I open up his reply.

_Hey, kid! I actually just got off duty. Let me take a shower then we can start talking. I'll call you in ten minutes. _

Well that's good. I'm glad I caught him at a relatively decent time. Though if he's calling me, I better set up on this end. I've gotta route incoming calls to the main display, so I take the next few minutes trying to get that to work. Once everything is set up, I start fiddling again. For some reason, I just now remember that I never responded to Vi's message. I guess I can do that now while I'm waiting.

_Hey Vi,_

_I would have written sooner, but man, Jenny moves fast. Got back from a mission just a few hours ago and needed to wind down. It was a pretty hectic mission. Mercs hit us with an EMP, frying our shields and leaving us in a bad spot. Then Jenny goes and gets herself shot, nearly giving me a heart attack. Luckily it wasn't too bad, and I was able to patch her up._

_I'm glad that the cure actually worked. Not that I doubted Mordin, but you know what I mean. Glad to hear that the clinic is finally under control and that Ronon is on security full time. God knows you're gonna need him. And you think Jesse misses me? C'mon, that bastard doesn't have any feelings ;) But seriously, I really hope everything works out for you guys. I think everyone at the clinic—especially you—deserves a break. Though knowing you, you'll be there all the time making sure everything works because that's just how you are, but can you at least try to leave for a bit every day? For me?_

_Anywho, I should get going. Best of luck at the clinic. Take care!_

_-Dylan_

_P.S. You won the bet._

Just as I press "send", my 'tool beeps again. _Incoming call from: Kaidan_. I quickly press accept and look up at the main display. It takes a second to connect, but it's soon on, showing Kaidan's face. He looks pretty much the same as he did two years ago on the Citadel. Maybe a few new lines on his face from the stress of working on Horizon, but that might just be my imagination. Either way, he looks good, and it's great to see him again.

His face, which was looking fairly serious when it first appeared, breaks into a warm smile. "Hey, kid! Long time no see!"

"Almost two years, Kaidan," I say, returning his smile. "I feel bad that I haven't called earlier."

"I'm sure you've been just as busy as I have," he says. "So what have you been up to?"

"Do you want the long version or the short one?"

"I've got nowhere I need to be."

I just shrug. "Alright. Just remember that you asked for it," I say, shooting him a small grin. "A few months after you left on your mission, I decided to get off the Citadel. Needed to get away from some stuff." Like freaking al-Jilani.

"What did you do, Dylan?" he asks, giving me a look.

"Nothing illegal, no. I just expressed some opinions in an interview that didn't do me any favors with the Council. So I left. Ended up going to Omega—"

"Wait, you went to Omega? Why would anyone ever go to that hellhole?"

"I had heard about a clinic there that was trying to help people. I ended up getting a job as a security guard while getting medical training on the side. After a few months, I started working as a medic full time. So I worked there for the better part of a year and a half. So how bout you, Kaidan? How have you been?"

"Well, I've had better assignments," he says with a smile. "But I've also had worse. It's just hard to do any good here because most of the colonists are distrustful of the Alliance."

"Yeah, I learned at the clinic that it's hard to help people who don't want it."

He nods emphatically. "Exactly. But I'm doing everything I can to help. Especially considering the recent attacks on human colonies."

The attacks. Would this be a good time to bring up information? Maybe try to ease into it? I think that's the best way.

"Yeah, I've heard about that," I say. "Does the Alliance have any idea about what's causing it?"

"Command has a few theories, but nothing I'm at liberty to say." He gives me an apologetic look. "Sorry, Dylan, but you're not Alliance anymore. You know I'd tell you if I could."

"No worries, Kaidan. I don't want you to lose your job. Besides, I have a few theories of my own." Well, it's really only one theory. And it's not really a theory. More of a fact. But still.

He raises an eyebrow at my statement. "Care to share?" Ha, that rhymed. Seriously, though, here goes nothing. This'll probably start a chain reaction, and I'm still not sure if it'll end well.

"The Collectors."

A sort of stunned silence follows my revelation.

"And what makes you think that?" he asks after a few moments. Well, at least he didn't immediately shoot it down. Though I guess Kaidan is the kind of guy who'll at least get all the info before calling an idea stupid.

Ok, I think I have two options before me. I can either make something up about hearing some rumor, or I can go deeper down the hole and tell him about Jenny. Shit. Honestly, I think the best option is to just keep going forward. I wanted to tell him about Jenny somehow, and this seems to segue nicely into that.

"Jenny told me."

This time his jaw actually drops a little. He closes his eyes for a second and shakes his head really quickly. When he opens his eyes again, he stares at me for almost a solid minute. I just stare back, keeping the same level look throughout.

"Jenny. As in Jenny Shepard? Who died two years ago?" He pauses for a moment. "Dylan, are you sure living on Omega hasn't messed up your head?"

"I'm not on Omega anymore, Kaidan," I say, calmly. "I'm on the Normandy, helping her stop the Collectors."

"Dylan, I know you were good friends with her," he says slowly, "but she died. The Normandy got destroyed. You were there." Again, he pauses. "Do you need me to come get you off of Omega? I'm sure I could get a week's leave to help you."

"Kaidan, stop. I'm not crazy, and if you'll just let me talk, I can explain this to you." I pause, waiting for some kind of response from him. He just nods. "A few days ago, I was working at the clinic, helping the doctor develop a cure for a plague that was sweeping through the district. Just as we finished getting the cure done, I heard a voice behind me. It was Jenny. To make a long story short, Cerberus had recovered her body and brought her back to life."

"Wait, _Cerberus_?" he asks incredulously.

"Yes, Cerberus. Can I finish first before you ask questions?" A brief look of anger flashes across his face, but he takes a deep breath and nods for me to continue. "It was her. I don't know how I could tell, but I knew right away that it was the real Jenny. Not a clone, not a robot. Real, honest-to-god her. Cerberus had brought her back to investigate and stop the attacks on human colonies. She found evidence that it was the Collectors, so now she's putting together a team to stop them. The doctor I was working for was on the list, so I joined, too. Now I'm on the new Normandy with Jenny in command, Joker at the helm, and Garrus and Ian here with us. So I'm not going crazy, Kaidan. This is real, and I thought you deserved to know."

I finally stop, and a heavy silence grows between us. A few times, he opens his mouth to speak only to close it a moment later. A whole range of emotions flicker across his face as he tries to process what I just told him. I really feel bad putting him through this, but it's infinitely better than what would have happened on Horizon.

"Dylan, you have to know how crazy that all sounds," he finally says. "I mean, ignoring the fact that Shepard's somehow back from the dead, it was _Cerberus_ that brought her back. You haven't forgotten the missions we went on against them, have you? All the sick things they did?"

"I know that, Kaidan!" I say, slightly testier than I originally wanted to. "Have you considered that that's why I'm here? If Cerberus brought her back, don't you think she needs people that she trusts to watch her back? Like I said, Joker, Ian, Garrus, and even Chakwas are all here with her. We obviously want to protect human colonies, but we also want to protect _her_."

"But what if they already control her?" Wow, I don't think I've ever heard him that angry. He seems to realize it, too, because he suddenly closes his eyes and sighs. "Look, I shouldn't tell you this, but the Alliance thinks that Cerberus might be behind the attacks. How do you know that they aren't lying to you about the Collectors?"

My jaw drops a little. I can't help it. I just thought that Kaidan, of all people, would trust that I was telling the truth. But I can't give up. I can't just walk away.

"Kaidan, we have _proof_ that it's the Collectors. We have evidence, data that Dr. Solus is analyzing. Trust me, Kaidan; I've been keeping an eye on her. She's not done anything that's out of character. Hell, she's even actively disobeyed a Cerberus order before."

"I…I just…" He trails off. Again, so many conflicting emotions flash across his face. He's really having a hard time trying to reconcile all of this. I don't blame him, but I guess I thought he would have reacted better. "What do you want me to say, Dylan? That I'm suddenly gonna quit the Alliance to come work for a terrorist organization? Even if Shepard is back, I still have my duty to the Alliance. I can't just drop it all like you did. I swore to protect these people, and with the recent attacks, that's more important than ever." He sighs and rubs his eyes, suddenly looking very tired. "Look…I'll see what I can do. Since you're working with Cerberus, I can't actively give you intel, but maybe I can pass some stuff your way. You understand that I have a responsibility to these people, right?"

"Of course I understand, Kaidan," I say. "And thanks. Every little bit helps, and I'm sure Jenny will appreciate—"

Suddenly, the door whooshes open. "Dylan, are you done in here? I need to—" Jenny finally seems to notice that I'm not, in fact, done. She also seems to notice who I'm talking to. She stops dead in her tracks right inside the door with a look of complete shock on her face. Kaidan has the same look, at least.

There's a fairly lengthy—and awkward—silence during which I just look back and forth between them. "Well…that's one way to prove I was telling the truth," I mutter. That seems to snap Jenny out of her trance, though not Kaidan, apparently.

"Dylan, how the hell did you manage to contact him?" she asks.

"I called him on my omni-tool?" I say tentatively, not really sure what the correct answer would be.

"You called him on your…" She trails off. "Oh, that lying bastard!" She looks up at Kaidan, who's still pretty dumbfounded. "Kaidan, I am _so_ sorry I didn't contact you sooner. The first thing I did when I…woke up…was ask The Illusive Man about my old team. He told me you were on a covert op and couldn't be contacted. I didn't really have a reason not to trust him, so I just didn't try. Now I feel so stupid and used."

"I…I can't believe it," Kaidan finally manages to say. "You're alive…" He turns his head to look at me. "Dylan, I'm sorry I didn't believe you earlier, but you understand why I didn't, right?"

"Of course, Kaidan. I threw a lot at you at once. But let's not worry about that right now. I think we have a lot of catching up to do."

**A/N: Alright! Chapter 13 is finally out, and I didn't end with a cliffhanger! That's the second chapter in a row. I think it's a new record...**

**So yeah, time for me to apologize for taking over a month to update. Real life just started to pile on shit one after the other. Some personal stuff, then fall break, then two papers, then midterms... College life ain't easy, kids. I'm gonna try to get back to a more normal update rate, but after this past month, I'm not gonna make any promises. But at least I'm back!**

**Anywho, I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I can't wait to hear from my old regulars again. I guess that's it for this chapter. Till next time, ta ta!**


	15. Long Talks

**A/N: Well, I told you I'd get this chapter out this weekend! So yeah, not really much else to say here. Enjoy!**

**Long Talks**

"I still can't believe that this is real," Kaidan mutters as our conversation comes to a close. Since Jenny came in, the three of us have been talking for almost an hour. He seemed to have gotten used to it after about fifteen minutes, but it doesn't surprise me that he's still sort of in shock. I kind of threw a lot of stuff at him before Jenny showed up, and her appearance didn't really help his mental state.

"There are days I don't believe it myself, Kaidan," Jenny says. "But I was given a second chance. It might not have been by the best people, but I need to take advantage of it."

"I understand, Shepard. I'll try to help as best I can, but don't expect anything confidential. I may trust you, but your employer is a different matter."

"It's just nice to have another trusted face on my side, Kaidan." She gives him a warm smile that he returns.

"It really is nice to see you again, Shepard," he says. He looks off-screen for a moment then turns back to us. "I should probably get some sleep. Somehow got the early shift tomorrow. Thanks for deciding to call me, Dylan. Stay safe out there. Both of you."

"Same to you, Kaidan," I say. Then I grin at him. "Let's not go a year and a half without talking again, ok?" That earns a chuckle from him.

"Can do." And with that, the connection cuts out, leaving Jenny and me alone in the comm. room. We're silent for a while until Jenny speaks up.

"So Dylan, not that I'm complaining about you calling him, but why did you?" Man, it's a good thing I thought of that ahead of time.

"Well I knew he was on Horizon, and with all the attacks recently, I wanted to make sure he was ok," I say as if it was the most natural thing to do. "Maybe even pass on a warning if I could. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the subject of you came up. I was trying to convince him I wasn't crazy when you came walking in."

"While I admire the initiative you took and recognize the good it did, please tell me next time you're planning something like this. It'll probably save time in the long run."

"I honestly didn't think you would come up…both in the conversation and in real life."

"Well what's done is done," she says. "And overall, I'd say it turned out pretty well."

"Agreed," I say with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go give Gardner's food another try." That earns a nice laugh from her.

"I think you'll be happy to hear that I'll be buying him some ingredients that don't suck, so the food quality should be increasing tomorrow." I let a look of awe come over me.

"Can I start worshiping you? Improving Gardner's food quality would be a freaking miracle."

"I mean, I already have the whole 'back from the dead thing'…" I can tell that it was originally meant to be a joke, but the way she trailed off like that… She's still coming to terms with it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask after a moment, giving her a concerned look. Jenny takes a deep breath and gives a quick shake.

"No, I just…now know that I'm still not ready to make jokes out of it. But I'll be fine. Now, I did actually come in here with the intention of making my own call, so if you're done, I'd really like to do that."

"Of course. Have fun." And with that, I walk out.

Well…that probably went better than it should have. I honestly don't know what I was expecting to accomplish when I started the call, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting Jenny to walk in. Once we got past the whole "oh my god, you're alive" thing, the conversation went almost unnaturally well. You know what? I'm just gonna take this victory without thinking about it too much. Because I know that as soon as I do, I'll start thinking about how it could blow up in my face.

So yeah, I'm just gonna go get food (again) and then probably go to sleep. Luckily we're just stopping at the Citadel tomorrow, so I can have a lazy day.

Walking into the mess hall, I'm surprised to see Garrus and Ian in here. Has Garrus even left since I was down here earlier? And wasn't Ian going to sleep? Though wait…damn, how did I not think of this? I should have told Ian that I was planning to talk to Kaidan. I suppose now is as good a time as any. Hopefully he's not mad at me for asking him first.

"Hey guys," I say, walking over to get food. I start to rummage through cabinets because Gardner isn't around. "I'm surprised to see you up here, Ian. I thought you were going to sleep."

"I prefer to eat before I sleep," he says. Then he glances over at Garrus. "Besides, he's here. Don't want the bed being cold."

Finding something that looks edible, I go and sit down across from them. "Probably for the best. I need to tell you two something, so I'm glad I won't have to say it twice."

"Did Grunt kill someone already?" Ian asks.

"Did Zaeed scar someone with one of his stories?" Garrus asks.

For some reason, just the way they say that almost simultaneously makes me laugh. "No, nothing like that." I pause to look around the mess hall, making sure we're alone. "It's a canon thing."

"You killed Grunt?" Ian asks.

I just give him an odd look. "Would I do that?" He shrugs, and I keep giving him that look for a second before continuing. "No, I didn't kill Grunt. I called Kaidan."

He leans back in his chair. "I bet he was ecstatic to see you," he deadpans. "What with the Cerberus logo on the wall in the comm. room and all that."

"Would you believe that's the one place where there isn't a Cerberus logo?" I say jokingly. Really though, I'm wondering why he's not more interested in this. "But yeah, when that finally came up, he wasn't a very happy camper."

Now he folds his arms, taking on a sort of bored expression. What the hell? "So did you do anything that actually damaged canon? Or just chat about working for pro-human terrorists and pro-human military?"

"I'm not sure if 'damaged' would be the right word. I told him about Jenny being alive. I thought it would be better if he had some time to process that information rather than being surprised by it on Horizon."

Again, I'm met with a blank, unimpressed look. "So, what, is he going to work with us now?" he asks.

"Not exactly" I say. "It's still Cerberus. But I think we got him to see that we're only working with them out of necessity."

"Wait, you said 'we' in there," Garrus says, interrupting. "Who else was with you?"

"Uh, Jenny happened to walk in while Kaidan and I were talking."

"That still makes no difference," Ian says. He pauses as Garrus and I stare at him. "What? Kaidan not making Shepard a bit sad on Horizon probably isn't going to screw us over."

"I didn't think it would screw us over," I say, trying to make him see how important this could be. "Hell, I did it so we wouldn't get screwed over on Horizon. I didn't want her to have to go through that. I guess I just thought you'd be angry that I changed canon without talking to you first."

Now he stands up, letting out a sigh. "You changed fuck all, mate. You don't need to come and ask for my approval every time you have a conversation that wasn't in-game." He stops and glances at Garrus. "I'm off to bed."

Before Garrus can answer him, the Brit is already out of sight. Garrus lets out a long sigh and looks down at the table.

"We need to talk to him, Dylan," he says quietly.

"Agreed," I say. "That wasn't like him at all. I've never seen him that callous about something."

"I tried talking to him before you came down, but I got the same reaction as last night. He even shied away from me when I tried running a talon down his back. He usually loves that."

"I haven't noticed him joking as much as he used to. And when he does, it almost seems…forced."

"I've noticed that too," he says. "I try to bring up old jokes, and get nothing. He's also not eating. He only took a few small bites of his dinner, and I know it wasn't because of Gardner's cooking. It's almost like he just doesn't care anymore."

"Now that you mention it, I've seen that too," I say. "On the mission, he was quieter than he used to be. A little reckless, too. He wasn't being stupid about it, but he seemed to take some risks that he wouldn't have before."

For a while, the two of us fall into silence, contemplating how we can help Ian. Honestly, this looks like a case of survivor's guilt. Granted, I'm no psychologist, but it's not like I haven't had experience with it: Ash after Eden Prime. Hell, looking back, I might have been on my way to developing it after her death. Luckily, I had people to help me through it—Ian being one of them—so I'm gonna return the favor.

"I'm still not the best when it comes to humans," Garrus says after a while. "Do you have an idea what it could be?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's survivor's guilt," I say, voicing the thoughts I was just having. "He's blaming himself for the squad's death and it's eating him up inside. This is just a guess, but he also might not feel like he deserves to live if the squad couldn't."

"But why would he be pushing me away?"

"I don't really know, Garrus. It could be anything."

He looks down at the table and sighs. "What can we do to help him?" he asks quietly.

"We need to let him know that he shouldn't feel guilty about surviving," I say. I try to think back to how people helped me deal with Ash's death. "If we need to, we can try directing his guilt away from himself and to something else." I pause, trying to think of other stuff. Hmm… "Are there any relatives of the squad on the Citadel?"

"I think Nalah Butler, the wife of our assault specialist, lives there," Garrus says after a moment's thought. "Why?"

"Sometimes talking to a relative of the deceased can help. Just something to think about. I still think that the two of us talking to him is the best idea, but maybe having Nalah as a backup would be a good idea."

"Then I'll get in contact with her. I'm sure she'll benefit from this as much as Ian will." That's a good point. Having dinner with Ash's family after the funeral really helped us all, I think.

"And let's not tell him what we're planning," I add, almost as an afterthought. "Let's just act like we're taking a walk. Is there anywhere on the Citadel he likes going?"

"He did always like visiting the lakes on the Presidium," Garrus says.

"Then it sounds like we have a plan."

"Good. Then if you'll excuse me, I need to contact Nalah then I'm calling it a night."

I simply give him a nod, and he gets up and walks to the elevator. Well now I'm alone in here again.

God it's been a long day. I just need to finish eating whatever the hell this is and go to sleep. Twenty minutes later, I'm comfortably in bed and quickly asleep.

##########

_Knock knock._

Hmmhmhhm…

_Knock knock._

Huhhh, wha…?

_Knock knock._ "Dylan, wake up."

"Hnah, go away," I manage to mumble.

"Dylan, we're almost at the Citadel. I need to talk to you before we get there." Ugh, who's even talking to me? I think that might have been Garrus?

I groan a bit more before finally opening my eyes and sitting up in bed. "Just come on in, Garrus." The door opens, and everyone's favorite turian walks into my room. "Why do we need to talk?"

"I just thought we should confirm what's happening today," he says, taking a seat at my desk. Leave it to a turian to confirm plans.

"I didn't think it was anything very complicated," I say. "We take Ian on a walk through the Presidium and try to talk to him about what's bothering him."

"Well, I managed to get a little more specific than that. We'll walk to a place called Drogo's Café near the turian embassy. Nalah will be waiting there just in case we decide she should talk to him."

"That sounds good to me."

"Alright. We should be docking in about a half hour, and I want to leave the Normandy a half hour after that."

"I'll be ready, Garrus. Now if you wouldn't mind, uh, leaving so I _can_ get ready?"

"Of course," he says, getting up and walking towards the door. "Meet us at the airlock in an hour." I just give him a nod, and he leaves my room. Once he's gone, I fall back down onto my bed and close my eyes.

A beep from my wrist makes me open them again. Looking down, I see I got a message. And from Vi! I quickly open it up to read it.

_Dylan!_

_It's good to hear from you again! I was beginning to be worried ;) Though honestly, hours at the clinic have been a little insane. Turf war goes back and forth, no end in sight (as far as I can tell). Too many civilians are getting caught in the crossfire, but fortunately (with Ronon and Jesse backing him up, not to mention some glares from my end) Daniel's shown a bit of a backbone. I finally have a weekend coming up, and I'm not sure what to do with myself. More than 24 consecutive hours with no responsibilities? Yeah, totally foreign concept._

_Jesse said he 'appreciated your calm sarcasm under duress.' Pretty sure that means he misses you ;) That's practically shouting about feelings as far as anyone else is concerned._

_Sounds like your time aboard the Normandy has been more than a little hectic! I still can't believe Commander Shepard is back... I mean, that's crazy, right? I'll just bet she's glad that you have some medic training under your belt now. I hope you gave those mercs hell. Knowing you, you probably did. Glad you guys got out okay. I'm not sure how good I'd be at the whole revenge killing thing, but I'd give it my best shot._

_Anyway, duty calls! Take care, Dylan!_

_-Vi_

_P.S. Aha! I knew it! I can't believe you thought he was a Spectre, haha._

I chuckle a little. It's nice to hear that she's doing alright even without Mordin and me around to help. Hopefully the Suns quiet down, but knowing them, that won't happen. So I guess I just have to hope that they continue not messing with the clinic like they did before.

Idly, I look at the clock and—

Shit! I have ten minutes before I meet Garrus and Ian at the airlock! God damn it! I must have fallen back asleep once Garrus left.

In nothing short of a small miracle, I manage to get ready and get up to the airlock just in time. I think I'll just refrain from mentioning that I almost missed this.

"Hey guys," I say, walking up to them. "You ready to go?"

"Yep. Just waiting on you," Ian says.

"Anywhere in particular you wanted to go?" I ask as we step into the airlock.

"I thought we'd go to that café, Drogo's, on the Presidium," Garrus says casually.

"Drogo's is still open?" Ian asks, looking slightly surprised. "We used to love that place. Think they still do lasagna?"

Garrus smiles down at him. "Seeing as you used to love it, I hope so. Personally, I hope they still have that _apatarae_ lasagna."

"So if you two loved this place so much, how come you never took me there while I was living with you?" I ask. I don't even think I had ever heard them mention this place.

"It's...I dunno." Ian shrugs. "It's kind of a special place for us, I guess."

"Fair enough. Hope you don't mind me tagging along, then."

"You're fine, Dylan," Garrus says, brushing my concerns away. "I'm the one who invited you, after all."

"Yeah, I didn't mean it like that," Ian says. "Besides, it's been two years. Things change." Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I glance over at Garrus and we share a quick look as the airlock finally opens.

"So have either of you heard about why we stopped at the Citadel?" Garrus asks, apparently deciding to change the subject. "I thought there was still one more dossier."

"I figured we'd be going straight for Purgatory, myself, pick up Jack," Ian says. He's walking in between Garrus and me. "Not that I mind not going straight to the big evil prison." You know, that's a good point. I never got around to asking Jenny why we're stopping here. Well, besides getting ingredients for Rupert.

"Well, from what Jenny said, she's stopping to grab some ingredients for Gardner," I say, voicing my thoughts.

"As much as I would love to be able to eat what he cooks, that seems like something rather insignificant," Garrus says. Yeah, he's right. We wouldn't make an entire stop just for food, no matter how bad Gardner's cooking is.

Hmm…what's important on the Citadel in the first half of the game? Hmm…

"Maybe she's picking up Kasumi," I say, suddenly remembering the petite Asian thief.

"Is Kasumi a hooker Zaeed ordered?" Ian asks. "Cos I don't see why Shep would be picking her up."

I try. I really do. But I just can't hold back the laughter. A hooker? I guess he never got her DLC. "No, Kasumi is another squad member. She was a DLC."

He looks surprised. "Oh. Don't tell her I said the hooker thing, then."

"Secret's safe with me, bro." I stop and suddenly think of something. I can't help but grin. "Though seeing as she's a master thief and awesome with tech, don't be surprised if she already heard you."

He makes a show of checking his pockets. "Now I'm paranoid for the whole trip, great."

"Is it really such a good idea to bring a master thief on board?" Garrus asks, sounding slightly dubious. Seeing as he was a cop, I can understand.

"She's actually really nice," I say, trying to reassure him. "The thieving is just a game for her, and the items are her way to keep score."

"That's not so bad," Ian says, shrugging. "Assuming she's the "steal from the rich" kind."

"She most certainly is. It's more of a challenge that way."

He nods approvingly. "Nice. If we ever run out of Cerberus funding we can sell her stuff."

That earns a chuckle from me. "Assuming she's willing to sell it," I say. Suddenly, something that I was just thinking of comes back to me. "I'm kind of surprised that you're so cool with having a thief on the squad. What with you being an ex-cop, and all."

"There's worse people out there," Ian says, voice suddenly getting slightly cold. "A lot worse. It puts things into perspective."

I shoot a quick look at Garrus before answering. "I can imagine some of the people you saw on Omega. I usually saw their victims."

"You can't really imagine. The ones who left people alive to get help were doing it wrong. You should have seen the corpses."

"Saw some of them, too. Mordin really liked hands on teaching, so autopsies on bodies were fairly common. So again, I can imagine. But at least you guys were there to stop people like that."

"And now there's no-one." He shrugs.

Garrus wraps an arm around Ian's shoulders as we approach the café. "There's still us."

"We're not on Omega."

"You know we did everything we could."

"I know you did." He sighs and sits down at an empty table. "Forget it."

"What do you mean _he_ did?" I ask, giving him a curious look as Garrus and I sit down next to him. "You both were out there helping Omega."

"Garrus didn't know what Sidonis would do, and I did." He stops and glares at me. "Remember?"

"Ian, you made a mistake," Garrus says. "We all make mistakes."

"Most mistakes don't get that many people killed." He sighs again. "I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

"We need to talk about it at some point, Ian," he says. "You haven't been yourself since Omega. I just want to help." He stops and looks over at me. "_We_ want to help."

"There is nothing to help, Garrus. I fucked up. We can't go change that."

"We're not asking you to change what happened, Ian," I say. "We're asking you to accept it."

He turns and looks at me like I'm an idiot for about five seconds. "I didn't realize it sounded like I was denying it."

I let out a mental sigh. I sort of walked into that one.

"I mean you can't let one mistake ruin your life. I almost let that happen when Ash died. You may not think so, but I know the path you're going down."

"I can't hide from responsibility either."

"We're not asking you to do that, Ian," Garrus says. "But you can't forget that Sidonis is just as responsible as you are. He still made the choice to betray the squad."

"I know. But I could've stopped him. You know that, and you still stay with me like nothing's changed..." He suddenly stops himself, shaking his head. "I'm fine."

"Because nothing _has _changed, Ian. Yes, I was angry that you didn't tell me, but what's done is done. I still love you."

Ian doesn't seem to know how to respond to that. He stares at Garrus for a moment before quickly looking away. It doesn't seem like he believes what Garrus said. I look over at Garrus to see a look of surprise on the turian's face. He must have obviously thought that Ian would respond positively. For some reason, seeing that shocked expression makes me slightly tired of beating around the bush. This may not end well, but I'm gonna try delving to the heart of the matter.

"Ian. Ian, look at me." He looks up at me. "You feel guilty that you didn't do more. I get that. But you don't have to feel guilty about surviving when the others didn't. That's not a road you want to go down."

"I just...I feel like I'm not paying for what I did," he says, quietly, looking at me then over at Garrus. "When you say stuff about Sidonis and what he deserves—because he made his choice—I made my choice too. We're equally at fault."

For a long while, I just sit there with a surprised look all over my face. He feels like he needs a punishment for what he let happen. In an odd way, that almost makes sense. In his mind, he did a bad thing. Therefore he needs to be punished.

I look over at Garrus, and he has the same sort of expression on his face as I do. He's probably having similar thoughts. He looks over at me, and our eyes meet. A thoughtful expression suddenly comes over his face. What's he thinking of? He glances briefly down at his wrist and pantomimes typing on his omni-tool. When he looks back up, I just nod. I know what he wants to do, and I think it's perfect.

Finally, he looks over at Ian again. "You...want a punishment?" Garrus asks him. "I think I have just the thing then." He opens his omni-tool and starts typing out a message.

"Punishment?" Ian asks, looking surprised that Garrus so quickly came up with something.

Garrus, to his credit, simply finishes the message and starts waiting. If I could read turian facial expressions better, I'd almost say he looks satisfied.

After a few minutes, a woman walks up to our table. She's about Ian's height with golden blonde hair. She seems about early 30's, but something about her just screams "motherhood." She takes a moment to look at Garrus and Ian then turns to face the turian.

"You must be Garrus," she says in a soft Scottish accent. "Which means you're Ian." She turns to smile at him.

"Who're you?" Ian asks suspiciously.

"I'm Nalah Butler. Sam's wife. He told me so much about you two."

Ian's jaw drops a little in surprise. Then he looks back and forth between Nalah and Garrus before finally answering. "Nalah, I'm really sorry they put you up to this, but I'm not sure this is a good idea. Sorry."

She just looks down at him with a small, almost sad smile. "Ian, they didnae put me up to anything. When Garrus contacted me, I didnae even have to think about it. I would love nothing more than to talk to Sam's commander and friend."

Ian looks around between the three of us, looking helpless. "But...he died. You don't blame us?"

"I don't know the details of what happened that day," she says, softly. She pauses, and for a brief moment, her cheery façade drops to reveal the grieving wife. "Garrus said you two would be able to tell me how Sam spent his final day."

"I..." He looks over at Garrus, and after a moment, he nods. "Alright. We should find somewhere quiet to talk." Garrus, Ian, and I get up from the table, but before we walk off, I speak up.

"I'll let you three have some privacy," I say. "See you back on the Normandy." Garrus just nods in acknowledgement and the three of them walk away.

As they move out of sight, I keep standing there for a bit, thinking about what just happened. I honestly think that went better than I was expecting. We seemed to get to the heart of what Ian was feeling, so we can start addressing that. Using Nalah as part of Ian's "punishment" was an inspired decision on Garrus' part. Hopefully this'll put him on the right path.

So now I have the rest of the day to myself. What the hell do I want to do? I wandered the Citadel alone enough times while I lived here to know that I don't want to do that right now. With Ian and Garrus occupied, there's really no one on the squad I'd want to hang out with.

Well, except Jenny. You know, I did promise myself I'd buy her a drink once she came back. Maybe now's the time to do that.

I quickly tap out a message to her. _Hey, are you done with whatever you needed to do here?_ Less than a minute later, she replies.

_Yeah, why?_

_I thought we could grab a drink and catch up._

_I'd like that. Meet at Flux in 10 minutes?_

_Uh…Flux never reopened after the attack. How about Dark Star lounge on Zakera ward?_

_Alright, I'll meet you there._

It doesn't really take me that long to get from the Presidium to Dark Star, considering there's a transit terminal right near it. Seeing as I got here early, I just lean against the wall next to the door to wait for her. A turian standing in front of the door—a bouncer, if I had to guess—gives me a momentarily curious look, but he quickly seems to write me off as any sort of danger to himself.

It's only about five minutes later when I see Jenny approach.

"So how did you find out about this place?" Jenny asks, walking up to me.

"Garrus and Ian would come here to unwind after a long day at work, and more often than not, I'd come join them," I say as I lead her into the club.

"Wait, if you were living here on the Citadel, why on earth would you ever move to Omega?"

"Maybe it'll be easier if I just tell you the whole story," I say as we find a table and sit down. "But first, let's get a drink. I'm buying."

"The drinking age is 21 on the Citadel," she says, giving me a curious look.

"Uhh…I turned 21 a few months ago."

For a moment, she looks shocked at the news. Then she suddenly closes her eyes and rests her head in her hands. "Damn it," she mutters with the slightest catch in her voice. "Everything's different: the tech, the clubs…I can't even remember how old my friends are."

"Jenny, none of that is your fault," I say, reaching across the table to put a hand on her arm. "What you've been through…I'm not surprised you're feeling this way. I won't pretend to know how it feels to be constantly reminded of it, but I'm willing to help you any way I can."

"I've just missed so much. All that time I'll never get back. It's hard."

"What can I do to help?"

She stays silent for a while, her head still in her hands. Finally, she takes a deep breath and looks up at me. "Tell me what happened to you while I was…away. My brain needs to make the connection that it's been two years, not two weeks."

"I'd be glad to," I say, giving her a warm smile. "Any particular part you'd like to hear?"

"Not really. I guess just start at the beginning."

"Well, after the…incident…I moved in with Ian and Garrus here on the Citadel. The Alliance had decided they didn't need me anymore. I sort of didn't know what to do with myself, so I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing for a few months. I'd wake up, eat breakfast with Ian and Garrus if I caught them before work—they went back to C-Sec—and just wander the Citadel."

"So if they went back to C-Sec, how'd they end up on Omega?" Jenny asks.

"I was getting there," I say with a smile. "After the attack here, C-Sec got really concerned about following procedure. Garrus and Ian didn't really like the extra red tape, but they dealt with it. At least up till it cost lives."

"C-Sec let people die over correct procedure?"

"Yeah, and like you can imagine, that pissed Ian and Garrus off to no end. They got this crazy idea that they could go to Omega and somehow bring order. There was nothing I could really say that would dissuade them, so they left. That was about six months after the crash."

"So what did you do after they left? And when did you end up on Omega?"

"Now, now, one thing at a time. After they left, I needed a way to pay for the apartment, so I ended up getting a job at "Miller & McCarthy's". Spent about two months working there before I had to leave the Citadel."

She gives me a nice long look before asking the question I know is on her mind. "Dylan, what did you do? Should I be worried about you being back here?"

"I didn't do anything illegal," I tell her. "It was about two months after Ian and Garrus left, and public opinion about the attack had been turning for a while. I got approached by that reporter, al-Jilani, and she started making some…rude comments. I kind of told her off—and the Council while I was at it. I figured it would be best to leave the Citadel after that. I had heard about Mordin's clinic from Ian and thought I could really do some good working there."

"So that explains how you got to Omega," she says. "What happened while you were there?"

So I start telling her about Omega. I dredge up every story I can think of: how I met Vi on the shuttle, working security at the clinic, finally starting to see patients, and everything in between.

"So Ronon and I turn around to see Vi in the hands of four Suns. For some reason, I just froze. We made eye contact, and I saw a helplessness that mirrored my own. I truly thought I was gonna lose her." For a brief moment, a look flashes across Jenny's face. I don't think I've ever seen that look before, but I can't decipher what it is. It's gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving me to wonder if I imagined it or not. "Thank god Ronon was there; he sprang into action when the Suns rounded a corner into an alley, and that forced me from my stupor. Needless to say, those Suns didn't leave that alley."

"I'm really glad you've been able to find someone to care about," Jenny says with the barest hint of…something…in her voice. "I didn't realize all the things you were leaving behind to come with me." She pauses and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Again, part of me still thinks that it's only been a few weeks."

"It wouldn't have mattered if it was two weeks, two months, or two years," I say. "If you're back, it's because the galaxy needs you. And if the galaxy needs you," I pause, giving her a grin, "then you need me to watch your back."

Despite her best efforts, Jenny starts chuckling. "Thanks, Dylan. Sorry I had to derail what should have been a normal visit to a club."

I give her a warm smile. "I thought you knew by now that you don't have to be sorry about talking to me about this. Besides, we can still enjoy a nice night at the club. I'm still buying."

**A/N: Hey look, another non-cliffhanger! This might be a record... So yeah, pretty big dialogues this time around. Hopefully Ian and Jenny will get on the path to getting better.**

**Got two plugs for you guys and gals: one personal, one not. Personal first, and this is totally random. If any of my readers are fans of Rooster Teeth and members of that site, feel free to friend me (same name). If I get enough people, I might start posting little goodies between chapters. Also, WttF is available as an ebook. Go to my profile for the link.**

**The non-personal is a story suggestion. The story _Long Way Together_ by janessmith is a really good sibling fic. If that's your cup of tea, check it out.**

**Anywho, enough of that. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	16. Prison Break

**A/N: I'm back folks! I'll have some announcements here at the end, but I know y'all have been waiting a long time for this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Prison Break**

Man, I never pegged Jenny as one to drink, but to her credit, she's been keeping up with me all night. Not that we're getting drunk, but for her size, I'd have thought she'd be on her ass by now. As it is, I'm buzzed, but Vi usually couldn't match me for this long without getting drunk. I guess Cerberus gave Jenny a fancy new liver. Well that's probably good in the long run: Coming back with your commander completely shit-faced probably wouldn't look too good.

So yeah, it's a good thing we're both just buzzed as we return to the Normandy. During the cab ride back, we kept bringing up old inside jokes, and now we can't stop giggling like crazy. Good thing it's late; Joker's not in the cockpit when we finally cycle through the airlock and onto the ship. I can only imagine how much fun he would have had with us in this state. As it is, we make our way through a nearly-empty CIC, only staggering a few times on our way to the elevator.

I manage to hit the call button on the second try, but the damn thing's all the way down on deck five. I put my hands in my pockets, settling in for a long wait. Suddenly I feel an added weight on my chest, and I look down to see Jenny leaning into me. I instinctively put an arm around her shoulder to steady her. Geez, she must be tipsier than I thought if she's falling over just by standing here.

The sound of a throat clearing behind us makes Jenny stand up straight, not wanting someone to catch her too tipsy to stand. Turning around, I see a very familiar petite Japanese woman. Looks like we were here for Kasumi after all.

"Hey, Shep," she says in that ever-chipper voice of hers. "Looks like you had a fun night."

"Oh, hi, Kasumi," Jenny says with an almost imperceptible slur. It's so insignificant that I doubt Kasumi even noticed, but I'm almost certain I didn't imagine it. "I was just catching up with Dylan here at Dark Star." She pauses then seems to remember that I haven't actually met Kasumi yet. "Kasumi, this is Dylan."

I extend my hand, which she shakes. "Nice to meet you, Kasumi," I say.

"The pleasure's mine, Dylan." Even though most of her face is hidden by that hood, I still notice the small smile. Before someone can say anything else, the elevator arrives.

"I call first ride," Jenny says, stepping into the lift. "You two can come up with me or wait till it comes back."

Before I can answer, Kasumi speaks up. "We'll stay here and give you some privacy," she says. "G'night, Shep."

"See you two in the morning." The door closes and the elevator begins its slow ascent. Well now Kasumi and I are stuck here until it comes back.

"So how'd you catch the Illusive Man's attention, Kasumi?" I ask to fill the silence, despite me already knowing the answer.

"I'm a thief," she says simply. "The best, actually. I've got to give your Illusive Man credit for managing to contact me directly."

"So if you're a thief…am I gonna have to lock my doors and keep my valuables hidden?"

She laughs lightly. "I don't steal from people I work with. Professional courtesy." She pauses, and I swear I can see a playful twinkle in her eye under the hood. "Besides, locks wouldn't do you any good. There's not a system I can't break into, and your boss seemed to think that'd be a useful skill to have."

"Yeah, I can see that coming in handy," I say. "And it doesn't bother you that this is supposed to be a suicide mission?"

"No more than I'm sure it bothers you. Besides, Shep seems the type to find a way to survive a suicide mission." As she finishes talking, the elevator arrives, and we step in. I press the button for the shuttle deck, and she selects the crew deck.

"Trust me, she'll keep us safe. There's no one I'd trust more to lead us into something like this."

"I wouldn't have agreed to this if I thought it'd be any other way. So how did _you_ catch the Illusive Man's attention?"

"As far as I know, I didn't," I say with a little shrug. "I just happened to be working for someone who did. Seeing as I was part of Jenny's original crew, when she came to recruit Mordin, she asked me to come, too."

"So you just dropped it all and rejoined her crew?" Kasumi asks. I give her a curious look.

"Well yeah. What else would I have done?"

"It just doesn't seem like most people would volunteer for a suicide mission."

"If Cerberus went to all effort of bringing Jenny back, then something big is gonna go down soon. And if something big is gonna go down, there's no place I'd rather be than by her side."

I glance down at the small Asian thief, and again, I swear I can see a small smile behind the hood. She seems content to ride the rest of the way down in silence. Very shortly, the elevator stops on deck three.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Dylan," Kasumi says, stepping out of the elevator. "I look forward to working with you."

"Same to you, Kasumi. Enjoy the rest of your night." The door closes again before she can reply. The elevator starts its descent again, and I let my mind wander. It was really nice to spend the night out with Jenny. It's amazing how easily we settled back into our old friendship. Well…considering it's only been two weeks for her, I guess it's not that surprising. Still, it was a really nice night. And Kasumi was everything she was in the games. I always loved her character, and I wish we could have learned more about her. Though I guess I have that chance now.

The elevator finally stops, and I manage to get into my room without any fuss. Flopping into bed, I just now remember that I need to write Vi back. I feel guilty that I forgot, but I was helping friends through some tough times. I'll write her back sometime tomorrow…when I trust myself to write a letter. As it is, I probably drank just a _tad_ more than I should have. Whatever, though. I'm gonna go to sleep.

I'm asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

##########

The next morning after breakfast, Jenny calls the ground team up to the conference room. With ten people in here—including a rather large krogan—it's a little crowded, but we've managed to spread out around the table.

"Alright people, we're on our final dossier here," Jenny says, bringing the briefing to order. She taps a few things on her omni-tool, and a moment later, everyone else's lights up. "I've just sent all of you the file on our last recruit."

_Jack (no last name known)_

_-Exceptional biotic ability_

_-Note: Criminal background, currently in custody_

_Jack is rumored to be the most powerful human biotic ever encountered. Very little additional data regarding Jack is available, except that the subject has a history of violence and should be approached carefully. Currently, Jack is being held on the turian prison ship Purgatory. Cerberus has negotiated for the prisoner's release._

"If this Jack person is so dangerous, are we sure we actually want him?" Garrus asks.

"If he's as guddamn powerful as it says he is, why the fuck wouldn't we want him?" Zaeed asks.

"What's to say he doesn't just go on a killing spree once he's free?"

"I plan on giving him extensive preliminary tests once he's onboard," Miranda says. "He'll only be allowed on missions once I give him the all clear."

"I'm sure that if I could keep Urdnot Wrex in line, I can handle whatever Jack can throw at me," Jenny says with a little half-smile. "As it is, this should be a fairly clean-cut mission. Go in, confirm the Cerberus payment, get Jack, and get out." Oh, if only you knew how stupid the warden is. Still, the guy's a chump, so it's still gonna be an easy mission, if not clear-cut.

"So who's going with you?" Jacob asks.

"I'm going with a smaller squad than usual: Miranda, Zaeed, and Mordin. I can't see needing a full squad, and I doubt the prison would let us, anyway. So the three of you suit up and get ready; we should be at Purgatory within the hour. Any questions?" She looks around the room, but everyone's silent. "Alright then, dismissed."

As we all file out of the conference room, a thought strikes me: I'm not on the mission. I think this is the first main story mission that I'm not on. I was on Therum, Feros (mostly), Noveria, Virmire, Ilos, and the Citadel. And now that she's back, I did Mordin's mission, Garrus' mission, and Grunt's mission.

But I'm not on this mission. Something about that just seems…wrong.

Without conscious thought, my feet have taken me out to the CIC, but now I'm just standing in here, brows furrowed a little in thought.

"Is everything alright, Dylan?" a chipper voice off to my right asks. Looking up, I see Kelly giving me a curious look.

"I'm fine, Kelly," I say absentmindedly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've just been standing at the galaxy map and staring off into space. Something on your mind?"

Hmm…should I talk to Kelly about this? I mean, she is a psychologist. I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to her.

"Just thinking about the mission. It's gonna be strange to watch it from the sidelines."

"Well that makes sense," she says matter-of-factly. "Ever since Shepard recruited you, you've been on every ground team. And according to your file, you were a regular on her teams two years ago." She gives me one of her glowing smiles. "With a record like that, idleness must be a foreign concept. If it makes you feel any better, Joker monitors Shepard's helmet cam. You can always watch the mission in the cockpit."

"That might actually be worse," I say, giving that idea some consideration. "If something happened, I'd be forced to watch it and not be able to do anything."

"A fear of feeling helpless and out of control are perfectly normal. It just shows that you care about those you serve with."

"Yeah, well I'm sick of feeling that way," I mutter. Watching Ash die, watching the Normandy explode with Jenny still onboard, seeing Vi get dragged away by the Suns… And those are just the big ones.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kelly asks quietly. I almost forgot she was there.

"No, not…not right now. Maybe in between missions sometime I'll let you probe my psyche."

"I'd like that." Something on her console seems to catch her attention. She looks at it then glances back up at me. "I should get back to work. Try not to go stir crazy." She smiles.

I give a small chuckle. "I'll try, Kelly. Thanks for the talk."

"It's what I'm here for," she says, turning back to her console.

Well, that certainly was interesting. Part of me doesn't really want to talk to Kelly about any of that stuff, but another part sort of wants to talk about it to someone who would truly understand it. I sigh a little internally. Stupid latent psychological issues.

But whatever. Now I need to go figure out what to do while Jenny's out on a mission. I guess I'll just head down to my room and see what I come up with. Pressing the call button for the elevator, I lean against the wall and wait for it. Luckily, it doesn't keep me waiting for long. The door opens, and Jenny walks out fully armored.

At first, I want to ask her why I'm not on the mission, but I quickly repress that thought. It's not my place to question her squad choices. "Good luck out there," I say instead. Maybe I should also try to drop a warning about the betrayal. "Oh, and keep an eye on the Suns. Omega taught me never to trust them."

"Thanks, Dylan," she says with a smile. "And don't worry. I'm not planning to be around them for very long. Enjoy your time off, and I'll be back before you know it." We share one last smile before she walks into the armory and I step in the elevator.

Soon enough, I'm sitting at the desk in my room. I could probably hang out with Ian and Garrus, but to be honest, I just feel like being alone right now.

"Alright, folks, Commander Shepard and XO Lawson are out on a mission, so yours truly has the deck," Joker's voice suddenly says over the loudspeakers. "As always, the cockpit is open to anyone who wants to watch the mission from the commander's helmet cam, and I'll keep everyone posted on anything really important. Joker out."

Yeah…I don't think I'm gonna watch this mission. I'll just stay down here and…do something. Hmm, what to do? Ooh! Now that I'm totally sober, I can write Vi back! I boot up the terminal at my desk and start tapping out my reply.

_Violet!_

_Man, with all this talk of the turf war getting worse, maybe I should be the one worried for you :P But I'm glad to hear you're finally getting a weekend off. Lord knows you deserve it. Just...be safe, ok? I won't be there to pull your pretty little ass out of the fire, and Ronon can only be in so many places at once, lol. And it's great to hear that Daniel has some spine after all. Just make sure you three keep leaning on him. I'd ask how Ronon's doing, but he's Ronon, so that's all the answer I need._

_Damn, the old bastard really said that? Just about brings a tear to my eye, lol. Well you can tell him I miss his stubborn tenacity in the face of improbable odds. That'll be the closest thing to a love letter the guy's gotten in years ;)_

_Yeah, tell me about it. I actually had a day off yesterday, but even that had some work in it. Remember Ian? We recruited him and Archangel, but Ian's feeling some survivor guilt because the rest of their squad died. So Garrus (Archangel) and I spent a majority of yesterday trying to make him realize that it wasn't his fault. I think we made some progress._

_And now, I'm sitting here as Jenny's out on a mission. It feels...weird...not being out there with her. But this is supposed to be an easy grab-and-go mission, so I guess it doesn't really matter anyway. I'm sure she'll be fine._

_Anywho, I guess that's really it. Stay safe and enjoy your weekend off!_

_-Dylan_

_P.S. Shut up! Mordin would have made a great Spectre, and you know it! :P_

Almost immediately after I press send, Joker's voice comes over the ship's comms. "Could Dylan Owens, Garrus Vakarian, and Ian Shaw please report to the cockpit?"

Huh…wonder what this is all about. It's not anything really important because Joker would have just announced it to everyone. Maybe he just wants an old crew reunion or something. Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if that's it. Oh well, no sense sitting here speculating.

I walk out of my room and see Ian and Garrus already waiting at the elevator. "Any idea what this is all about?" I ask, coming to stand next to them.

"No clue," Garrus says. "I can never tell with Joker."

"For all we know, he's lonely and wants some company," Ian says. The elevator door opens, and the three of us step inside. For a while, we just ride in silence, but suddenly another thought hits me.

"Maybe the Suns turned on Jenny, and Joker didn't want to get the whole crew worried," I say.

"Eh, I don't know," Ian says. "The way they tried it in game was so idiotic that I doubt Joker's worried if that's the case." I give that some thought and concede that point to him. The rest of the ride is spent in silence.

The lift finally stops, and we make our way up to the cockpit. "Alright Joker, what's all this about?" Garrus asks once we reach the crippled pilot.

"I've been keeping an eye on the short-range sensors because I don't feel comfortable sitting in an enemy dock like this," he says, looking over his shoulder at us. Then he quickly brings up some sort of display for us to look at. "We're sitting here," he indicates to a portion of the screen, "and right there on the other side of the docking bay there's been a steadily increasing troop presence. From what the sensors can tell, looking at about fifteen already, and they're showing no indication of slowing down."

"Mr. Moreau is of the opinion that the Blue Suns guarding the prison are 'up to no good'," EDI says, her hologram popping up in the usual spot.

"Any signs of foul play on Jenny's end?" I ask.

"Nothing yet," Joker says, bringing up the helmet cam feed next to the sensor display. "It took 'em forever to even get permission to leave the docking bay with their weapons. Right now, they're headed to out-processing to get Jack."

"I still don't like the look of all those troops staging out there," Garrus says.

"Me neither," Ian says. "When it looks like mercs are up to no good, they usually are."

"Joker, tell the ground team still on the ship to get prepped and gather in the CIC," Garrus says. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"Can do, Garrus." The pilot thumbs a button on his console and starts speaking again. "All remaining ground team, suit up and prepare for possible combat. Gather in the CIC when you're ready."

The next five minutes are a flurry throughout the ship. Obviously, the whole crew heard that announcement, so there's been some minor panic. Nothing huge, but you can tell they're worried. Soon enough, though, the rest of the ground team is assembled and ready in the CIC.

"Alright, here's the situation," Garrus says to the squad. "The Normandy's sensors have picked up some increased merc activity right outside the docking bay. We're not certain, but they might be prepping for an attack."

"Ha! They won't stand a chance," Grunt says, brimming with excitement at the prospect of a fight.

"Of course they won't. An ambush only works if the people being ambushed don't know it's coming. Joker has warned the commander to keep an eye out, so for now, we wait for them to make a move."

"Why wait?" Grunt asks. "Let's just go out there and kill them first."

"Because we're not sure if they _are_ going to attack. If we hit them first, we'll have the whole station after us. Besides, we wouldn't want to spoil their surprise, would we Grunt?"

True to his name, the tank-bred just grunts. "They better attack soon. I'm getting bored."

Garrus looks over at Jacob, and I'm pretty sure that look is saying "Keep an eye on the krogan." Jacob nods, apparently understanding the message.

"Dylan, Ian, and I are going to monitor the situation from the cockpit with Joker," Garrus says. "The rest of you, stay up here and await further orders." Everyone gives some sort of confirmation, so Garrus, Ian, and I head back to the cockpit.

"Anything new, Joker?" I ask, coming to stand behind his chair.

"Commander took a little break to play goody two-shoes and stop a beating," he says. Of course she did. "They just entered what I think is the last hallway before out-processing. It's on the screen." He gestures to the feed, still next to the sensor display.

Well, he was telling the truth. Jenny's helmet cam is just showing an empty hallway about ten meters long. Except for the sound of the squad's footsteps, it's quiet in the hall. Suddenly, there's a sharp pneumatic hiss, followed by a softer, but more continuous one. Jenny quickly looks around, and there's a sudden thump behind her. Mordin and Zaeed are on the ground, apparently unconscious. Then the helmet cam starts to wobble before falling to the ground. Miranda hits the floor very shortly after.

"What the fuck just happened?" I ask.

"I don't know," Joker says, "but those troops are on the move, and they're headed our way. Looking like two dozen total."

"Keep an eye on Shepard's feed," Garrus tells the pilot, voice grim. "We'll go greet our guests." The three of us move to stand by the airlock. "Ground team! On me, ASAP!"

In about fifteen seconds, the six of us left on the ship are gathered inside the airlock. According to Joker, the mercs have sent a small breaching team to break through the airlock into the ship while the main force waits further down the hall. Well that's just perfect for us. Time to spring their trap early.

Garrus slams down on the airlock control, opening the door to reveal about five mercs huddled there. Surprise is written all over their faces at the fact that the door opened before they wanted it to, but that surprise quickly turns to fear when they see what's on the other side: Grunt. With a shotgun. And a smile.

In what may be the creepiest moments of my life, the young krogan lets out his signature low chuckle before calmly removing the head of the merc right in front of the door.

After that, all hell breaks loose. Grunt charges out of the airlock, swinging his shotgun like a baseball bat, and the rest of us rush out behind him. All five mercs sent to breach the door die in a matter of seconds. That just leaves the nineteen still left farther down the hall. Luckily, their distance from us allows us to take up positions on our end of the hall. Unfortunately, it also means that they're already set up on their end.

The firefight is an intense one. There are a lot of them, but none of them match us in terms of skill. They're used to dealing with prisoners with no weapons, not experienced soldiers. The docking bay is also rather small, so neither side can get all their people firing at once.

The whole thing takes about five minutes. And in a firefight, five minutes feels like an eternity. The last two enemies are taken out by Kasumi and Ian, each of them cloaking and dispatching their target with a brutal melee attack. The silence that follows is only broken by the heavy breathing of the squad.

"Is everyone alright?" I finally ask. All of them say yes. Good, I didn't want to have to treat injuries so early in a mission.

"Alright, I want two people to stay with the Normandy in case the mercs try again," Garrus says. He scans the squad for a moment. "Jacob and Ian, you two stay and make sure no one gets on the ship." Jacob nods right away, but for a moment, it looks like Ian will argue. A moment passes between Ian and Garrus, and the Brit just nods and goes with Jacob back to the airlock. Once those two are inside, Garrus tabs his radio.

"Joker, do you know where the Suns took the others?"

"Of course. They were too stupid to realize that Shepard's helmet had a camera, so I was able to follow their progress. And even if they had managed to turn it off, EDI's hacked her way into the prison's systems."

"I am currently attempting to determine Jack's location within the prison," the AI says.

"You keep doing that," Garrus says. "Joker, walk us to where they've taken the others."

"It's not like it'll be hard to find," the pilot says. "They took them to processing, which—shockingly enough—is right next to out-processing. Just follow the signs, you can't miss it."

With that, we start heading to where the others were taken. The Suns seem to know that we're coming because we run into small pockets of resistance along the way, but there's nothing to indicate that they've gone into lockdown, which you'd think would be the smart thing to do. Maybe lockdown only keeps people from getting out, not in.

Either way, the small groups of Suns we run into never take very long to dispatch. Even though there are only four of us now, we never run into more than four or five at a time. With even numbers, they _really_ don't stand a chance. Grunt could probably do this by himself. And he often does. Sometimes we'll see a group of Suns, and he'll just charge in. When he does that, we don't even bother rushing to help him anymore because he's always finished by the time we get there.

Anywho, after about five minutes of walking the halls and killing small bands of mercs, we finally reach processing. We stack up by the door, but before we breach, Garrus tabs Joker again.

"What's happening in there, Joker?"

"I don't know anymore, Garrus. They took off her helmet and put it in a locker. You're going in blind." Garrus growls a little at the news but takes a deep breath to calm down.

"Garrus, if there's a doctor or scientist in there, try to take him alive," I say before he can open the door. "I need to know what they used to knock the others out."

"Alright," he nods. Then he looks at Kasumi and, more specifically, Grunt. "Got that? If you see someone wearing a lab coat, take them alive." They nod. "Then here we go."

He opens the door, and the four of us rush in. Checking left, there's a merc right next to the door. The idiot didn't even have a weapon drawn, so I quickly pull off five shots from my Mattock. It takes three to break his shields, and the last two hit square in his torso. He drops.

I scan the rest of the room, but there are no more hostiles. There is, however, a man in a lab coat. "Get down on the ground!" Garrus yells at him. "Hands up and on your knees!"

With a look of disgust, the man does as Garrus orders.

"They're all here, Garrus," Kasumi says off to the right. Looking over, I see Jenny, Miranda, Mordin, and Zaeed each on a bed, completely knocked out. I go over to stand in front of the man we captured.

"What did you give them?" I ask.

"Give me one good reason why I should tell you," the man spits out. Almost instantly, my Carnifex is in my hand and pointed at the guy's forehead.

"This good enough for you? Now what did you give them?"

"K-k-k-kolokol 1. It's an incredibly potent opioid. Knocks people out in seconds and lasts for hours. It can occasionally induce apnea, but we checked for that! They're all breathing. That's all I know, happy?"

"Very," I say, holstering my Carnifex. Then I look over at Garrus. "What are we gonna do with him?"

"I've got some binds," he says, walking behind the man. "We'll just leave him here." In a fluid motion, he captures the man's hands and binds them behind his back. Then Garrus ties the man's ankles together. With that done, he looks up at me. "So can you wake them up?"

"I think so," I say, rooting around in the medical pouch I have on my armor. "I grabbed some Naloxone from the med bay, and it should counter the effects of the opiate."

"Well you might want to hurry," Kasumi says from the door. "We've got mercs incoming."

"We need to hold them off while the Naloxone takes effect. I need to inject it intramuscularly, so maybe…five minutes for them to wake up, and another five to be mostly functional."

"Then go ahead and do it then come help us guard the door," Garrus says.

"Already on it," I say, prepping the first dose for Jenny. In just under a minute, I've given all four of them their shot. Now we hold the room.

Garrus and Grunt take positions on either side of the door, and I move a desk in front of it for Kasumi and me to take cover behind. Luckily, all of the beds are out of the line of fire from the door. The mercs have to physically be in the room to take a shot at the others.

I can't say it's a very…interesting fight. These Suns are seriously lacking in the tactics department, so they never try anything more complicated than a frontal attack. Though considering how well my previous hold the line attempts have gone, I shouldn't get too complacent. Still, these guys aren't on par with geth…or even plant zombies.

After about five minutes, I hear a groan coming from one of the others. Sparing a glance, I see Jenny starting to stir. "Garrus! I need to go make sure the others are waking up ok!" I yell over the din of battle.

"That's fine!" he yells back. "Grunt could probably be doing this by himself, anyway!" As if to emphasize that point, Grunt's laughter can be heard over the shooting. Crazy krogan…

I rush over to the bed where Jenny's waking up. "Jenny, can you hear me?" I get an extra loud groan as a response. "I'll take that as a yes. Listen to me. Do not try to get up. Just stay still for a while longer until you feel better. You're safe. Everything's gonna be ok."

Over the next minute or so, I give pretty much that same message to the other three. Once they know they'll be ok, I go back to the door and start shooting again. Man, Garrus wasn't kidding when he said Grunt could do this by himself. I barely have to do anything. The three of us are basically here to shoot anyone Grunt misses. And considering the mercs aren't even attacking in groups bigger than five or six at a time, Grunt isn't missing a whole lot.

After almost another ten minutes, there's actually a lull in the fighting. With my newfound free time, I go over to check on the others again. They've actually managed to sit up, but none of them have left their beds.

"How are you four feeling?" I ask.

"Slight nausea, increased heart rate, appear to have rash on upper arm," Mordin says. "Used Naloxone. Surprised you had any." Holy shit…he was able to figure out I used Naloxone based only on the side effects he had? Dayum.

"I got lucky," I say. I look at the other three. "Anyone else?"

"I feel fine," Jenny says. "Ready to get Jack then get the hell off this station." She's lying. I may not know the side effects of Naloxone like Mordin does, but there's no way she's "fine" after only fifteen minutes. But I also know that she'll never admit to _not_ being fine. I just sigh a little and wait for Miranda or Zaeed to speak up.

"I felt a little light headed when I sat up," Miranda says. "Now I'm feeling a little dizzy."

"I can't keep my guddamn hands still," Zaeed says, holding up his right hand for emphasis. It's trembling like crazy. "And I feel like…" He trails off then suddenly leans forward and throws up. "…that."

"Garrus, we need to get them back to the Normandy," I say. "We can't leave them here, and they're in no condition to fight. Also, Chakwas really should give them a full examination."

"Grunt, take Miranda, Mordin, and Zaeed back to the Normandy," Jenny says. "I'll stay with Dylan, Garrus, and Kasumi to finish the mission."

"Jenny, you were heavily drugged, and I only gave you the counter-drug fifteen minutes ago," I say in protest. "You need to see Dr. Chakwas."

"Dylan, I'm fine," she says, giving me an intense look. "Besides, I need to be there when we get Jack." She pauses and we lock eyes. We stay like that for a good ten seconds before she speaks up again. "If there are any more firefights, I'll stay out of them. Garrus, you'll still lead the squad. Is that acceptable?"

"Barely," I say after a few moments. "But as soon as you're back on the Normandy, I'm taking you down to see Chakwas myself. Got it?"

She gives me a little half-smile and a playful salute. "Sir, yes sir."

"Then if that's all settled, we should get moving," Garrus says. "There's no telling how long this lull is gonna last." He pauses and looks at Grunt while the others slowly get to their feet. "Grunt, make sure that nothing happens to them on the way back to the ship." The young krogan simply nods. "Then let's get going. EDI, any luck finding Jack?"

"I have discovered the location of Jack's cell and am currently attempting to gain access to the locking mechanism. I am sending the location to your omni-tool. I should have access by the time you reach the cell."

"Then let's not waste any more time. I'm tired of this station."

We part ways with Grunt and the others at the first intersection. They move kinda slowly because Miranda's dizziness and Zaeed's trembling, but I honestly can't think of anything that would be a problem for Grunt. I'm sure they'll be fine.

Our group, on the other hand, keeps running into the usual small patrols we've been encountering this whole freaking mission. True to her word, Jenny stays back and behind cover during every one, but I still hang back a little to keep an eye on her. Still can't believe I agreed to this…

All told, it takes about five more minutes to reach Jack's cell. Turns out she has an entire cell block to herself…big shocker there. And it also turns out that her "cell" is actually a cryo-cell. So they _froze_ her, and then put her in her own cell block. Brilliant. And it _still_ won't be enough.

"EDI, how long will it take for her to thaw out?" Garrus asks, standing at the control panel to her cell.

"The process will take approximately ten minutes," she says.

"Wonderful," he mutters. "That means defending an area again." Man, you took the words right out of my mouth, Garrus.

Believe it or not, there's not a single enemy for the first five minutes. Not that I'm complaining.

"So what did the mercs use to knock us out?" Jenny asks during the blissful lull.

"It was apparently some kind of ultra-concentrated opiate," I tell her. "So basically, you OD'd hard after about two breaths of the stuff."

"I'm not gonna be addicted now, am I?"

"Doubt it. Besides, the stuff I gave you to counteract the drug also helps diminish dependence, so you should be fine. But that's another reason to see Chakwas." I give her a pointed look. In return, she tries to look innocent, and damn it if she doesn't do a good job.

Then five minutes in, everything goes to hell. The door leading back to the main area of the prison opens, revealing a YMIR mech.

Wonderful.

Seeing as cover is all but non-existent in this cell block, I can tell we're gonna have a _fun_ time with this mech.

Since Jenny's in no real condition to fight, I put myself right in front of her before sending an overload towards the mech. Garrus and Kasumi follow suit, but according to my HUD, its shields are barely at 50%. I heave a mental sigh. Trigger finger, don't fail me now.

In the span of about three seconds, I manage to empty all 16 rounds of my Mattock into the hulking machine. If anything, that just made it want to concentrate on me.

Super wonderful.

I grab Jenny and push her to the right while I dive left, hoping that the YMIR comes after me and not her. Luckily it does, and I never thought I'd ever think those words in my life. Some of the first shots miss, but I can feel the rest of them impact my shields. Towards the end, I even feel a few shots impact the armor itself, but thankfully none of them puncture the hard ceramic plating.

As the thing's gun is cooling down, we finally manage to take its shields down. As soon as they go down, I see Kasumi blink out of sight. Seconds later, I hear a loud sparking noise from the back of the YMIR, and the petite Japanese thief soon reappears, holding something in her hand.

The light in the mech's eye goes out, and the machine simply falls to the ground. I look over at Kasumi and once again see a mischievous smile beneath the hood.

"I ripped out its power core," she says, answering everyone's unspoken question.

"Why couldn't you have done that sooner?" Garrus asks as we all regroup near Jack's cell.

"I couldn't do it while its shields were up. Otherwise I would have."

"Well that was nice thinking, Kasumi," Jenny says. The little thief just nods.

"Commander, the thawing process is complete," EDI says over the radio. "Though I would recommend keeping the door locked until you assess Jack's current state."

Suddenly, there's a loud bang from the inside of the cell. "Who the fuck had the balls to thaw me out?!" And there's Jack. Swearing and all. "If you think you can fuck with me, you've got another thing coming!"

"Huh, apparently Jack is a woman," Kasumi mutters. Jenny, however, steps up to the door.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and I'm here to get you off this prison station."

"Fuck off! Even I know Shepard got wasted two years ago."

"I'm offering you a way out of prison," Jenny says. "Does it really matter who I am?"

"It sure as hell does! I know you're not letting me free out of the goodness of your fucking heart."

"I need you for a dangerous mission. Enough killing that even you should be satisfied."

"So you're letting me go so I can kill more shit? Bull."

"Absolutely true, and if you come with me, I'll prove it."

There's a long pause on the other side of the door as Jack contemplates her options.

"Fine," she says after a minute. "But if you're fucking with me, I'll end you."

"Fair enough," Jenny says. Then she presses the button to open the cell door, and we all get our first look at Jack. To Jenny's credit, she doesn't even bat an eyelash.

"Welcome aboard, Jack."

**A/N: And there we go! Got the last member of the pre-Horizon squad. So you know what that means! I'm really looking forward to the next few chapters.**

**On a totally unrelated note, remember how I tried getting people to friend me on the Rooster Teeth site? That didn't go over so well. (But thanks to the five people who did actually friend me!) So now let's try tumblr! Because I have one of those now. If you follow me over at therev28 . tumblr . com (remove spaces), you'll be able to ask me questions (no answers guaranteed), view anything I find reblog-worthy, and get sneak peeks of upcoming chapters! If you post interesting stuff on your own blog, I'll even follow you back!**

**Anywho, enough self-pandering. That's it for this chapter. Hopefully I can get a good start on the next one before spring semester starts. Until next time, ta ta!**


	17. Memories

**A/N: What is this? Two updates in under a month? What manner of sorcery be this? Nah, but seriously, it feels great that I don't have to keep you guys and gals waiting for this chapter. Especially because I've been waiting for this chapter for a while. So enjoy!**

**Memories**

"What the fuck?" Jack says, stepping up to the window overlooking the Normandy. "That's a fucking Cerberus ship!"

"Why yes, Jack, it is," Jenny says, standing behind her. "Anything else you'd like to point out before we board?"

"I'm not setting foot on a fucking Cerberus ship. Do you think I'm fucking stupid?"

"Well, you're apparently turning down your only chance off this station, so you're not off to a good start in that respect."

"Fuck off, Shepard," she says, turning around to glare at us. "Deal's off. I ain't working for Cerberus."

"You won't be working for Cerberus," Jenny says, suddenly sounding all serious. "You'll be working for me. And before you say it, I'm not working for Cerberus, either. They're just paying me to do what I do best."

"Bullshit."

There's a long pause as Jenny unleashes the iciest of her icy stares at the psychotic biotic.

"Jack, let me make this abundantly clear: The Normandy is my ship. I am her commander. Cerberus may have built it, but _I_ control it. This is your last chance. Either you come with us and help us on our mission, or I leave you here to rot. And I don't think the warden will appreciate your escape attempt."

To her credit, Jack returns with a stare rivaling Jenny's. For a long while, the two women engage in a battle of wills, neither one willing to back down. It goes on for so long that I'm afraid some guards will come and attack us, despite us basically clearing out this section of the station on our way back to the ship.

"One condition," Jack finally says. "I want all the files on Cerberus that you have in your little databanks."

"Done," Jenny says. "Now let's get off this station." I couldn't agree more, Jenny.

With the threat of a Jack meltdown temporarily averted, the five of us enter the airlock. It quickly cycles us through, and we reach the ship proper.

"Hey, Commander! You're back!" Joker says, turning around in his chair to face us. "How was your trip?" Jenny stops to give a Look directed at Joker. He just grins back at her before turning back to the flight controls. "Right, getting us out of here. Anywhere specific we're going?"

"Just get us out of the system," Jenny says. "I'll get back to you when I have more info." The pilot throws off a lazy salute over his shoulder, already plotting a course to the Mass Relay.

Garrus and Kasumi have already walked off to the lift, leaving Jenny, Jack, and me here by the airlock.

"What about my data, Shepard?" Jack asks as we start heading through the CIC to the elevator.

"You'll have it by the end of the day, Jack," she says tiredly. "There are a lot of things that I need to do after a mission."

"Paramount of those being vising the med bay," I pointedly remind her. She gives me a lopsided grin.

"I haven't forgotten our deal, Dylan. That's why I was getting in the elevator. And I think you…" She gives me a pointed look of her own. "…could use a break. You were supposed to have this mission off, but we see how well that went. So go relax."

I give her a playful salute, similar to Joker's. "Aye aye, ma'am."

And of course, the elevator arrives right after I say that. Jenny gives me a final small smile before she and Jack step into the lift. I, on the other hand, go to the armory to drop my stuff off. It's surprisingly empty when I enter. Huh, I would have thought Jacob would be here. Oh well, I don't really care that much.

I carefully remove my Mattock and Carnifex from their mag-strips on my armor and store them in my locker. Then begins the tedious process of removing my armor. Boots off first, then greaves, and so on all the way up. As I'm taking my gauntlets off, I hear the door open up behind me.

"Hey, Dylan. Nice job out there today," Jacob says, walking in and heading to his worktable.

"Same to you, Jacob," I say, continuing to remove my armor. "Though sorry you got stuck defending the ship."

"Eh, it wasn't too bad. Ian and I still had some mercs to fight off every once in a while. Though from what I heard, your group definitely had the more interesting job."

"Yeah, there were a lot of guards. And a lot of time spent guarding an area waiting for something to happen."

"Given a choice, I'll always defend a position rather than attack it," Jacob says. "But I'll admit that it can get a little dull sometimes."

"Yeah, I'm with you on that one," I say, stripping off the final piece of armor. "But combat is still combat, and I'm dead tired right now."

"Then that's something else we can agree on. Go get some rest, Dylan. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya, Jacob." And with that, I walk out of the armory and over to the lift.

About a half hour later, I step out of the bathroom on deck three, feeling absolutely wonderful after my post-mission shower. My stomach starts to grumble, so I decide to see what Rupert's made for dinner. You know, now that he has good ingredients, his food is actually pretty damn good. Thank god, too. I wouldn't have lasted much longer with the old stuff he used to serve.

Rounding the corner to the mess hall, I glance into the med bay. Jenny, Mordin, Miranda, and Zaeed are all still in there being watched over by Chakwas. The fact that she hasn't come to find me and berate me probably means that I did a good job treating them in the field. Either that or she's scrambling to keep them alive after I screwed up, but it doesn't look like that's the case.

Maybe I'll go check on them anyway.

"Ah, Dylan, so nice of you to stop by," Chakwas says as I walk through the door.

"Just thought I'd stop in and see how she's doing," I say.

"They're all doing fine. The Naloxone is metabolizing through their system on schedule, and I haven't noticed anything besides the usual side effects. I'd say another hour or so for the rest of it to exit their systems; Mordin, though, should only be here another few minutes."

"Yes yes yes, heart rate back to normal, nausea and rash gone," Mordin says from his bed. "Wonders of salarian metabolism."

"Yes, quite," Chakwas mutters, looking down at a datapad. Then she glances back up at me. "Was there something else you wanted, Dylan?"

"What? No," I say. "Like I said, just wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally poison any of them."

"And like I said, they'll be fine. All they need now is rest." She ends that last statement with a pointed look at me. I catch the hint and back up towards the door.

"Alright, then I'll let them get their rest. Let me know if you need anything."

"Of course," she says, but I hear the undertone telling me to hurry up and leave. So I do.

The next day is a fairly uneventful one. Jenny still hasn't said where we're headed, but I get the feeling that it's not Horizon. If it _were_ Horizon, I feel like she'd be in much more of a hurry. So honestly, there's not much for me to do. For most of the day, I just stay in my room.

At one point in the afternoon, I actually get a letter from Vi.

_Dylan!_

_Nah, you don't need to worry about me. Turf war's been causing fewer problems as the Suns push the vorcha back. It's hard to pick a side in this one when both side are complete shit, but at least the Suns have sense to back off whereas the vorcha are more likely to just waste themselves - or their enemies. Taking charge of the clinic has been terrific for Daniel. I think he finally sees where Mordin was coming from, why he was so resistant to paying off the mercs. Practically doesn't need the good ol' Ronon glare anymore, haha. Ronon's doing... is Ronon a verb? :P_

_The only thing this 'pretty little ass' is gonna see for the rest of my weekend is a nice hot bath. No fires, planned or unplanned ;) I was gonna try and catch a shuttle out to Illium, visit my family. There just wasn't enough time to spare at the clinic to let me go. Ah, well. Kicking off my shoes and becoming a hermit on my own sofa has been pretty nice._

_Consider your love letter delivered. Want me to start scoping out rings for you two? ;)_

_I do remember Ian! I'd heard through news channels that Archangel's squad had been wiped out, but considering what you said when you left, well... I wasn't sure if I should believe everything the mercs reported. At least those two made it out, though that's still horrific. Give Ian a hug for me, will you? I hope he realizes there's nothing he could have done, and that sometimes this galaxy is just crap, regardless of what we do._

_Not on a mission? I bet you're fidgeting all over the damn place, haha._

_My head's about to hit the pillow, so I'm gonna take off. Be safe and take care! And don't go too crazy!_

_-Vi_

_P.S. Hahaha, can you imagine him as a Spectre, though? I bet he'd be even more hilarious than Blasto. He'd talk the bad guys till their heads were ringing then cap 'em._

Unfortunately, before I can write back to her, Jenny gathers the ground team for a meeting.

The meeting's nothing major; a basic debrief of the mission, let the whole squad meet Jack, then talk about what we're doing next. Apparently, we're not really doing anything. According to Jenny, the Illusive man said he needed to gather intel about our next mission and that we basically have some free time until he gets back to us.

For some reason, Jenny didn't mention where we were headed next. But whatever, it doesn't really matter all that much.

After the meeting, I spend the rest of the day just chatting with Jenny, Ian, Garrus, and whoever else happens to stop by in the mess hall. It's not until I lie down to go to bed that I realize that I never wrote Vi back. I guess I'll do it tomorrow.

##########

On the second day away from Purgatory, I get a pleasant surprise in the form of a knock on my door.

"Yeah?" I ask through the door, looking up from my omni-tool.

"Dylan? It's Jenny. Can I come in?" she asks, sounding oddly hesitant.

"Of course, come on in. Door's open." She enters, and something immediately seems off. Her whole body language seems different, but I can't quite place it. But she seems less…confident? Is that the word? Self-assured? Suffice it to say that something's different. "Is everything ok?" I ask, motioning for her to sit down somewhere.

"I'll be fine," she says, sitting at the foot of my bed. "I just need to talk to you." That…doesn't sound very good. And this is starting to seem familiar. Memories of times she got like this two years ago suddenly surface, and I have to fight the urge to immediately sit next to her.

"Jenny? What's wrong?" I ask slowly.

"So you know we basically have some free time while the Illusive Man digs up more intel. Well, shortly after I…woke up…and was given the Normandy, I got a message from Admiral Hackett. Apparently the Alliance found the wreckage of the Normandy." Shit… "At first, I ignored it because I had people to recruit, but now…" She stops and takes a deep, shaky breath. "Now we're about an hour from Alchera."

This time, I don't fight the urge. I'm out of my chair and sitting next to her on the bed in seconds.

"Jenny…you don't have to go there," I say, gently covering one of her hands with mine. "No one, and I mean _no one_, would think less of you if you didn't want to visit that place."

"I would," she says quietly, looking down at the bed. "I can't keep letting my death define my new life. I need to do this, I need to…go down there and confront what happened." She pauses and looks up at me, and her eyes have none of the quiet strength that I usually associate with her. "But I'm afraid. Afraid of what I might find. Or what I won't."

"Jenny, no one should ever have to do what you're talking about. Our brains aren't wired to deal with something like this."

"I know, but I need to do this. For myself and for the families of everyone else who died in the crash. Hackett wants me to find the missing dog tags…but he never said I had to do it alone." I can hear the unspoken question, so before she can start talking again, I gently put my index finger on her lips, silencing whatever she was about to say.

"You don't even have to ask," I say quietly. "Of course I'll go. Since you seem so hell-bent on this crazy idea, I guess it's my job to be there to pull you out of the fire." A small smile creeps on my face, and it's soon mirrored on Jenny's.

"Thank you," she says, taking another deep, shaky breath. "Like I said, we'll be arriving there in about an hour, so…just meet me in the shuttle bay, ok? Oh, and you'll be needing your armor; atmo's toxic."

"I'll be ready. Just…make sure you are, ok?"

She slowly gets up and stands in the now open doorway. The small smile grows just a fraction. "Isn't that what you're there for?" And before I can even say anything in response, she's in the hall and the door closes behind her.

Just under an hour later, I enter the shuttle bay all suited up and ready. I'm not surprised to find Jenny already standing next to the shuttle. She looks up at the sound of my approach, gives a quick nod, and enters the shuttle. When I follow her inside, I'm surprised to see that she's up in the cockpit sitting in the pilot's seat. I guess it's really just gonna be us down there.

She pulls us out of the hanger in silence. I don't really know what—if anything—I should say in a situation like this, so I'm gonna let her start any conversation.

"They want me to place a monument," she finally says as we start to enter atmosphere. "Part of me understands that it's supposed to be a remembrance of those lost, but the other part just thinks that it would be defiling some sort of special place."

"If any ship and crew deserves a memorial, it's the Normandy," I say. "But you were her commander, and the choice is yours."

She's silent for a while, and when I look over at her, she seems very thoughtful.

We spend the rest of the trip in silence.

The landing is a gentle one, and I'm sort of surprised that Jenny's such a good shuttle pilot. Maybe it's part of N7 training? Whatever, doesn't matter.

Still silent, the two of us leave the cockpit and enter the main compartment. We take a moment to do some final prep work: making sure all the seals in our armor and helmet are functional. When that's done, Jenny takes a deep breath and opens the door.

My first view of Alchera is…fittingly depressing. Exactly opposite the door stands a large pile of rocks. And it's completely littered with debris from the Normandy. Everywhere I look provides a similar picture: a pristine white environment littered with black and gray pieces of the Normandy. For a long while, neither of us moves.

Finally, something seems to break Jenny from her trance. She begins walking forward, and I follow close behind her. There's a purpose to her step, and looking ahead of her, I see a faint glow on the ground. When we reach it, Jenny slowly kneels down and picks up the tiny object.

It's a dog tag. Gently, she brushes away the thin layer of snow that had accumulated on it after two years.

"Alexei Dubyansky," Jenny says quietly. Damn, I had almost forgotten about Alexei. We occasionally worked in engineering together.

For a long while, Jenny stays in that kneeling position, just looking at the dog tag. Finally, I kneel next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Jenny?" She shakes her head a little then looks over at me. "There are still nineteen more dog tags to find," I remind her.

"Right." She gets up and puts the dog tag in one of her armor pouches. "Why don't we split up? You head left and I'll go right."

"Are you gonna be ok going alone?"

"I'll be fine," she says. "And it's not like you'll be very far." I can almost hear the small smile in her voice, and I can't help but smile back, even though I know she can't see it.

"Just keep in radio contact, ok?" I say. "At the very least, we need to know when we've found all the tags." She nods, and we both start off in our respective directions.

I actually decide to check behind the shuttle before heading left. When I get there, the sight literally stops me in my tracks: a large section of the main hull with the name of the ship facing me. With almost frightful clarity, I remember the first time I actually saw the exterior of the Normandy. I was leading Ian, Garrus, and Tali back to the ship while Jenny got inducted as a Spectre.

_The elevator opens, and they catch their first glimpse of the Normandy. All three of them stop dead in their tracks and simply stare._

"_Garrus, Ian, Tali, welcome to the family. We're home."_

God, that seems like a lifetime ago. I spend the next few minutes just staring at the wreckage, lost in memory. Towards the end, I start to get an idea.

"Hey Jenny?" I say over the radio. "Remember that monument the Alliance wants you to put up? I think I found a great place for it."

"Alright Dylan, go ahead and mark the location on your omni-tool," she says. "How many dog tags have you found?"

Whoops…kinda forgot about that… "Uh, none so far, but I think I see one."

"Well I'm at three, so let me know when you find some."

"Roger that." And with that, I head over to where I did actually see the faint glow of a dog tag near the hull.

For the next ten minutes or so, I start combing the wreckage for more tags. I'm slightly amazed that they're still readable after two years in this frozen hell, but I guess that's one of the wonders of the future. I'm at five when I reach another spot that makes me stop dead.

The mess hall is sitting in the snow, remarkably intact. It's like both ends got cut off, leaving the middle completely untouched. Once again, a sea of memories floods my mind.

_I'm sitting at the table, talking to Kaidan and eating breakfast before Virmire. Jenny and Ash enter the mess hall and grab their own food. Ash sits next to me and gives me a surprise kiss on the cheek, echoing that moment in the elevator a few weeks ago before our date._

I quickly shake my head, trying to pull myself out of the memory. That's a train of thought I'd rather not get lost in. I keep telling myself that I'm over Ash, that I've moved on, but every so often, I get yet another reminder that I'm not. Maybe I never will be.

With a sigh, I start moving again, back on the hunt for dog tags. About five minutes later, I'm up to nine on my end, and Jenny's found ten. Off in a secluded corner of the crash site, I find the last dog tag…and something else.

Lying in the snow next to the dog tag, I see an oddly rectangular outline. Gently brushing away the snow, I'm shocked at what it is: a book. An actual, physical book. With a sense of reverence, I pick up the book to examine it. The cover is very faded, but still mostly intact…which is more than I can say about the pages themselves. Whatever book this was is now completely unreadable.

Curiosity takes over, and I take a closer look at the cover. While it's not as bad as the actual pages, it's still pretty worn from being in this environment for two years.

_Rose— & G—ern Are Dead._

…

Damn…as if Jenny needed something else to remind her of her old life. But I can't just leave it here. With a quiet sigh, I put the tattered book into one of my armor pouches. I'll think of something to do with it later.

Well, that was the last dog tag. I stand up and tab my radio. "Jenny? I've got the last tag." After about ten seconds, she hasn't answered. "Jenny?" More silence. A flood of possibilities enters my head, and none of them are good. "Jenny! Do you copy?" Still nothing. Now I officially start to panic. I start running towards the area she was searching in, all the while yelling into the radio, praying to whatever god may be listening that she answers.

I spend the next few minutes frantically searching the crash site, fear growing every second that I don't find her. Finally I see her. She's down on her knees in the snow, hunched over. My heart skips a beat in relief.

"Jenny!" I say, making my way next to her. "Why didn't you answer? I was worried sick." When I finally kneel next to her, I realize why she's hunched over: She's pressing something against her forehead.

It's her old helmet.

I softly place an arm around her shoulder, causing her to look over at me.

"I found my old helmet," she says, hardly a whisper. "It was here…"

"Get up," I say, gently taking the helmet out of her hands. "We are leaving." I slowly help her to her feet.

"But…w-we still have to find the dog tags."

"I have all of them. Let's just get back to the Normandy." Arm still around her shoulder, I lead her to the shuttle

Once inside, we sit down on one of the benches in the main compartment. Since we're back inside, I take my mask off, but she leaves her helmet on. For a long while, neither of us moves or makes a sound. I glance over at her to see her staring at the dog tags in her hands.

"Come on, Jenny. Take your helmet off and let's get back home."

"They're not here…" she mutters.

"What?"

"My dog tags. They're not here. They're not with the others. I died here with them… Why are they not here?"

"Jenny, stop," I say, covering her hands with mine. "I understand why you wanted to come down here, but this is too much. I'm gonna take off your helmet so we can…talk about…it…"

Her face… The subtle hint of mascara and eye shadow that she usually wears is now streaked with tears. When she opens her eyes and looks up at me, they're filled with such pain and loss that my heart nearly breaks at the sight of them.

I slowly reach out my hand and place it on her cheek, gently wiping the tears away. That seems to open up the flood gates; her crying starts anew, and she basically falls into me, crying into my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, letting her cry it out.

Finally, after almost ten minutes, the crying seems to stop. She pulls back a little, but my hand still stays on her cheek.

"Jenny—"

"It's ok," she says, voice a little shaky. "I'm…I'm better now. Thank you. I needed that."

"That's what I'm here for," I say, finally letting my hand fall back to my side.

A few minutes later, Jenny has composed herself enough to fly us back to the Normandy.

##########

The next day, I finally remember to write Vi back.

_Hey Vi!_

_Sucks that you couldn't visit your family, but I guess hermit time is an acceptable substitute. And from now on, "Ronon" is totally a verb. I'd personally like to pick the rings out myself :P_

_I'll make sure to give Ian that hug. He seems to be doing a little better, but sometimes you just can't tell. Though right now, I'm more worried about Jenny. She got it into her head to go visit the old Normandy's crash site…where she died. That went about as well as you would expect. I'm just glad I went down with her, or else I don't know what could have happened. But she seems pretty much back to normal now, so I really don't know._

_Oh, and that mission I was supposed to have off? Ended up going on it anyway. The original team got drugged and needed rescuing. Just my luck, right? But at least we _actually_ have some time off now. We're waiting for intel on our next mission, so we're basically free till then. It's kinda nice._

_Anywho, I should get going. Almost dinner time ;)_

_-Dylan_

_P.S. See! It's perfect! He's his own distraction! _

Ok, I'll be honest right now. I'm starting to get a little bored. It's been a week since we got Jack and completed all the dossiers in this round. I know what should happen next, but it's not happening! The anticipation is getting enough to kill me.

Well…when I say "anticipation", I also mean dread. Because even though I warned Kaidan about the Collectors and told him about Jenny, there are still a lot of bad things that happen on Horizon: half the colony being taken, for one.

But all of this is out of my control. Just another reminder that this is real life, not a game. I guess there was the expectation that as soon as we got the last dossier, we'd get the call for Horizon. Though I'm really not complaining about the time off. After going on four missions in four days, I was starting to burn out. So while this break is probably what I _needed_, it isn't exactly what I _wanted_.

Oh well.

As I'm leaving my room to go get breakfast, Jenny's voice comes over the ship's comms.

"Alright folks, we've finally got our mission," she says. "The colony of Horizon has just gone dark. We're making a hard burn for the planet and should be there in two hours. Ground team, meet for a brief in one hour. The Collectors are about to learn who they're messing with."

**A/N: Alright, well we're finally at Horizon. I really hope y'all liked this chapter. I know I had a blast writing it. Though I need to give a really huge shout-out to ErsbethShadowsong over on deviantART for her _Spectre and Archangel _comic. Her Alchera section provided the foundation which I based mine on.**

** ersbethshadowsong . deviantart . com(e) /art/The-Spectre-and-Archangel-01-191559305**

**So just remove the spaces and the "e" from "com" and give it a look. (Sometimes I really hate ffnet's link policy...) The Alchera stuff starts on page 64, but honestly, the whole thing is amazing.**

**Anywho, that's pretty much it for this chapter. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	18. Horizon

**A/N: What is this? Two chapters in the same calendar month? This hasn't happened since... *looks back* ...July. I'm...not very proud of that. But if this month is any indication, I should have more time to write this semester. So fingers crossed. Anywho, enough of my babbling. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Horizon**

"Please tell me you two have something," Jenny says, walking into the lab. Mordin and I look up from the table we've been working at for the past hour. I'm not sure why Mordin even called me in to help. Then again, I mostly just tested all his theories while he came up with more.

"Yes, finally discovered main method of communication among swarm," Mordin says. He then launches into some extremely detailed explanation full of all kinds of technobabble—some of which I still don't understand. When he finally stops, Jenny gives him a blank stare before turning to me.

"Care to give me the watered down version?"

"We set our omni-tools to play an extremely specific ultrasonic frequency," I say. "It sort of works like a dog whistle in reverse: Instead of being attracted by the sound, the seekers stay away."

"Explanation incorrect in almost every detail," Mordin says. "But useful metaphor."

"I don't really care _how_ it works, as long as it _does_," Jenny says. "Now let's get into the briefing room. We've got a lot to cover." Mordin and I nod and fall in behind her as she walks into the briefing room.

The addition of Jack to the crew—who I still haven't said more than five words to—means that the small room is even more crowded. Cerberus really should have planned this out better.

"Alright, folks, two hours ago, the colony of Horizon went dark," Jenny says, bringing the meeting to order. "The Illusive Man has reason to believe that it went dark because of the Collectors. For once, I'm inclined to believe him. I'll admit, we're basically flying in blind here; we have no idea of the size of the Collector forces. We also don't know how far into the attack they'll be, so for all we know, there might still be colonists around. Make sure you know what you're aiming at before you pull the trigger. Any questions?" She looks around, but no one seems to have one. Nodding to herself, she pulls up a holographic map of the colony.

"We're gonna land just outside the colony itself. There appear to be scattered bunkers throughout the colony, probably for raider attacks. Our first goal is to reach one of these bunkers and assess the extent and progress of the attack. Primary objective is to repel the Collectors from the colony. I hate to say it, but survivors are a secondary objective. Remember, the quicker we kick the Collectors out, the better chance that there even _will_ be survivors."

"I'm assuming that the professor here managed to find a work around for the seeker swarms," Jacob says, crossing his arms. "'Cause if not, I'd be questioning the sanity of fighting the Collectors."

"Mordin has developed a countermeasure," Jenny says with an affirming nod. "If you really want to know the details, ask him, not me. But I have every assurance that the swarms won't be a problem." Again, she pauses and looks around the group. "Any other concerns?"

"What about Kaidan?" I ask, the fact that he's on Horizon just jumping back into my mind. "We know he's on Horizon." She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Kaidan can take care of himself. Finding him is not a primary objective. Just like any other survivors, he's secondary." I don't necessarily _like_ what she says—and I can tell she doesn't, either—but I understand it. And she's right; Kaidan can take care of himself.

There's a rather long pause as Jenny looks around the room, seeming to stop for a moment to examine everyone. She's probably deciding who to take with her. After a solid two minutes of silence, she speaks up.

"Ian, Garrus, Dylan, and Jack, I want the four of you to suit up," she says. "Meet at the shuttle in a half hour. Anything else?"

"Commander, I haven't cleared Jack as mission-ready," Miranda says. "I would highly recommend—"

"Shut it, cheerleader," Jack says, giving the operative a mean look from across the table. She doesn't make any hostile moves, but I swear I can see the faint blue glow of her biotics flaring. "No one gives a fuck—"

"Jack, enough," Jenny says very firmly. "Miranda, consider this her test run. A baptism by fire, if you will. Besides, I need a biotic, and she's supposed to be the best."

"Ha, hear that cheerleader? Even Shepard knows I'm better than you." For a moment, it looks like she's about to say something else, but she catches Jenny's cold stare and wisely shuts up.

"This isn't a free ride, Jack. This is your chance to prove you belong on this team. When we're done here, head to the armory, and Jacob will provide you with a set of armor."

"Pfft, fuck that," Jack says. "I don't need armor; nothing can get through my barrier."

"Jack, that wasn't a suggestion. I don't care how strong you claim your barrier is. No armor, no mission. Got it?"

Just like when Jack first came aboard the Normandy, the two women engage in a battle of wills. And just as she did a week ago, Jack caves.

"Fine," she mutters. "Shit better not mess with my biotics."

Jenny just ignores the psychotic biotic's muttering. "Alright, if that's everything, you're all dismissed."

Everyone shuffles out of the briefing room, but I don't immediately go to the armory to suit up. I do _not_ want to be in there when Jack is. I do not envy Jacob the chore of finding her an armor set. Apparently Ian and Garrus seem to have the same thought because the three of us end up in the elevator together.

"So you ready for Horizon, big guy?" I ask Ian.

"I'm not treating this any different than a normal mission," he says. "Besides, Kaidan knows what's coming thanks to you. So he probably won't be an asshole when we run into him."

"Yeah, let's hope. And who knows, maybe my little warning could save a few more colonists."

"Maybe it can," Garrus says. "But remember that survivors are a secondary objective. We may not like it, but Shepard's right; the faster we stop the Collectors, the more survivors there'll be."

"I know, I know," I sigh. "I guess there's no sense in crying over rules I can't change." Ian and Garrus both sort of nod in agreement but don't say anything. The rest of the elevator ride is spent in silence.

Soon enough, the door opens to the shuttle bay and we head to our rooms. Ian's the first one in his room, but before Garrus can follow him in, I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"How's he doing?" I ask quietly.

"Better," he says after a moment. "He's not back to his old self—and he probably never will be—but he's doing better."

"Glad to hear it. You know I'm always here if you need me."

"I do. And thanks." He flashes a quick smile then heads into his room.

Heading into my room, I just sort of flop on the bed. I don't really think I came down here for any particular reason. I just didn't want to be in the armory at the same time as Jack. I'll give it five minutes or so.

I open up my omni-tool to fiddle around when I notice that I have an unread message.

_Hi Dylan!_

_Hermit time, though not nearly as awesome as family time, was still pretty damned nice. The days since have been hectic, though. The Suns are starting to win the district back, and there's been some 'incidents' with mercs forcefully demanding payment. It rarely ends well. Jesse's been keeping the staff on high alert, running longer shifts. Hired on another guy, too, so the clinic is never without security. We're all hoping that things calm down again once this turf war is over, but you know how Omega is._

_Wow, Jenny really went to the Normandy crash site? If I were in her position, I'd have steered clear of that kind of crap. No one needs that hanging over their heads, doesn't matter how tough they are. That'll screw with you. Good thing she didn't go alone._

_On a lighter note, how is that you're always the figurative shoulder to cry on? Should I be concerned there? ;)_

_Awww, one mission off and you get sucked back in before you even have time to kick your legs up? That sucks. At least when I get a day off at the clinic, I don't get called back in. Head nurse has its perks. But at least now you have (had?) some free time! God knows you could use it._

_Alright, lunch break is over and Daniel is walking towards me purposefully, so I better shove off. Take care of yourself!_

_-Violet_

_P.S. What do you think his tag line would be? Every great movie has a tag line, and how could a movie about Mordin not be fantastic?_

Damn, it figures I'd get this message right before going on a mission. I'll have to remember to message her back…assuming I don't fall asleep right after the mission.

Anywho, Jack's probably had enough time in the armory, so I might as well go get ready.

Just under a half hour later, everyone's at the shuttle and ready to go. I'm actually surprised that Jacob found some armor that fit Jack's small frame. Though with her standing next to Jenny, I'm actually surprised to notice that they're around the same size. How didn't I notice that before? So maybe Jacob gave Jack one of Jenny's backup sets.

Anywho, the five of us get into the shuttle, quickly followed by one of the Cerberus crew. Hadley, I think. I actually have no idea, but I guess he's our shuttle pilot.

During the ride down, Jenny decides we need to talk tactics.

"Alright, Dylan and Garrus, you two are our frontmen," she says. You know, it's sort of sad that I've gotten used to that. I _never_ like being in front, but I always seem to have the heaviest armor somehow. Except for when Grunt is along. Those missions are fine. "Make sure you check your targets. Ian and I will take the flanks and provide sniper support when necessary. Jack, you're in the middle behind Garrus and Dylan. Be ready to provide biotic support wherever it's needed."

"Don't tell me how to use my biotics, Shepard," Jack says.

"I won't be telling you _how_ to use them, I'll be telling you _where_, and you better use them where I tell you, when I tell you. Got it?" Man, so often I forget about Jenny's commander side. She can be very intimidating when she wants to be.

Surprisingly, Jack doesn't actually fight her orders. She just grunts and looks away.

"Any other questions or concerns?" Jenny asks, looking between me, Ian, and Garrus.

"What's the procedure if we run into survivors?" Ian asks.

"If we find survivors in immediate danger, eliminate the threat and tell them to get somewhere safe. If the area's clear, just tell them to stay hidden and move on. Like I said, our primary objective is clearing the Collectors. Anything else?" We shake our heads. "Then ready up. We're almost on the ground."

In the last few moments before the hell that is Horizon, I habitually check my gear. The mask goes on and it runs its usual system check on my armor. Everything comes up green. Taking my Mattock off my back, I just glance through its systems. I trust Jacob to take care of my stuff between missions, but right before missions, I do it myself. And before I forget, I make sure to add the incendiary ammo mod that Zaeed gave me while we were getting Garrus. It wasn't till a few days ago that I realized I had been forgetting to use it. Silly me.

"Ten seconds, Commander!" the pilot says over the comms.

"Alright people, ready up!"

The door opens, and the five of us quickly file out. As the shuttle flies away, I get my first look at Horizon. It's…deceptively calm. Despite the presence of the Collector cruiser way off in the distance, nothing really seems out of place. We landed in what appears to be a small park, and it shows no signs of battle at all. It's just a typical colonized garden world, perfect for human life.

The sudden buzzing of a seeker swarm breaks the façade.

The small cloud of poisonous bugs idly hovers about five meters away from us, showing no real indication of advancing closer. Suddenly very curious, I take a few steps towards the swarm. It automatically moves away from me. I take a few more steps, and the swarm continues to keep that same five meter distance. I turn around to face the others, who are staring at me like I'm crazy.

"What? I was testing the countermeasure," I say. "It appears to work, and it looks like there's an effective range of about five meters."

"I'm sure Mordin will be happy to hear his theory worked," Jenny says. "But we need to get moving. According to the map of the colony, there's a civilian bunker about a klick to the east. Form up and let's move out."

I take my position up front next to Garrus, keeping a few meters in between us. Jenny's on my flank, and Ian is on Garrus' with Jack in between them. It's sort of like a base three pyramid without the top.

Surprisingly, we don't encounter any Collectors in the park we landed in. Though there probably weren't any people in the park, so the Collectors didn't really have a reason to come here anyway.

That thought was a little morbid…

Anywho, it takes us about ten minutes to work our way out of this park. It probably wasn't even that far of a distance, but in an open environment like that, we were taking every precaution in the book.

We break from the trees and enter a rather large meadow that seems to be the boundary between the park and the colony. It's probably a good 100 meters or so of nothing but grass, grass, and more grass. If I thought I was alert before in the park, then there's no word for how alert I am now.

About 20 meters in, I hear buzzing, but…it's different. Sort of deeper toned and louder. Looking off to my left, I see the absolute last thing I wanted to: Collectors. A group of about six seem to have noticed us crossing the field and decided to come greet us.

"High left!" I call out, raising my Mattock to start taking shots at the insectile foes.

"We need to keep moving!" Jenny yells after taking a shot with her sniper. "If they catch us out here, we're dead!" Unfortunately, right as she says that, the group of Collectors lands in between us and the colony, about 50 meters ahead of us. The fastest way out of the meadow is through them.

"Actually, we're dead unless we get them first!" Garrus says, starting to shoot from a kneeling position. He's ripping off bursts from his Vindicator with speed and precision, but it appears that the Collectors have biotic barriers.

"Jack, biotics at will!" Jenny orders. The other woman seems more than happy to oblige, simply letting out a primal yell before warping one of the enemies. Not one to waste an opportunity, I start sending rounds towards the now-barrier-less Collector. After half a thermal clip, the thing falls dead.

Now, this whole time, they've been returning fire at us. But, since this is a meadow, there is literally no cover. We're just kneeling, occasionally strafing back and forth, trying to stay out of the line of fire. It's not very easy. My shields have already dropped down to 50%, and there are still four Collectors out there.

This isn't really a time for finesse. Take as many shots as quickly as possible and hope that most of them hit a bad guy. I see another Collector get covered in a rapidly shifting biotic field, so I shift focus to that one, ripping off five shots to empty my thermal clip. The incendiary ammo does its job, and the walking insect starts flailing around, trying to put out the fire all over its body.

Popping in a new thermal clip with practiced ease, I hear near-simultaneous cracks of two sniper rifles. One of the Collectors simply crumples as most of its upper body gets blown away. Now we're down to two.

My shield suddenly beeps a warning, alerting me that I'm down to 25%.

"Can we hurry this up?" I call out to no one in particular. "Shields are really starting to take a beating!"

"Switch with me," Jenny says, suddenly appearing at my shoulder. "My shields are still pretty good. Take some time off the front." I just give her a quick nod before crouch-running to the area she had been set up.

Somewhat surprisingly, the amount of fire coming at me actually lessens a bit. Of course, there are only two enemies remaining, so I'm not really sure if switching positions really helped. Doesn't really matter, and now's not the time to think about it. I just keep sending shots down range.

I empty two more thermal clips before the last Collector falls dead, a victim of one of Jack's warps.

"Alright people, now's not the time to rest," Jenny says, standing up. "We need to get out of this damn field, double time." And with that, she starts running towards the shelter of the buildings. The four of us quickly follow behind.

Once in the colony proper, Jenny picks a random building and ducks inside. After a quick sweep to make sure it's clear, we regroup in the main room.

"Those fucking bugs weren't so tough," Jack says. "A good warp put 'em down nice and quick."

"Then that's your job, Jack," Jenny says. "Whenever we run into them again, keep up a steady stream of warps, and we'll keep up a constant rate of fire." She pauses and looks at Ian, Garrus, and me. "If you see a Collector get warped and not die, switch fire to that one. Any questions?" All four of us shake our heads. "Good. We've still got about half a klick to the first bunker. Let's get moving."

Progress through the colony is just as slow, if not slower, than through the park. The layout of the colony turns a half klick into a whole klick by dint of not being able to travel in a straight line. Also, while the buildings provide us cover during firefights, it offers the Collectors cover, too. It seems like we're fighting for every block.

After almost a half hour and too many close calls to count, we reach the first civilian bunker. Walking up to the door, it looks like there's an intercom next to it. Jenny walks up to it and presses the button.

"Hello? This is Commander Shepard. Is anyone there?"

No answer. She tries again. Still no answer. After a third attempt, she turns to Ian. "Mind opening this door for us?"

"Not a problem," he says, walking up to the door and activating his omni-tool. "Just give me a minute here." He starts fiddling with his 'tool, doing stuff he probably learned on Omega. Meanwhile, the rest of us turn back towards where we came from, making sure the Collectors don't try to attack us. "Got it," Ian says after a minute or two.

Jenny presses the now-green interface, and the door whooshes open. The five of us cautiously enter the bunker.

The place is empty. Either no one made it to the bunker, or the Collectors beat us here and took everyone. Neither possibility is very encouraging. We stand just inside the door, just looking around at the empty shelter.

"Alright, spread out and see if you can find anything useful," Jenny says eventually. Jack just sort of stays where she is, her stance indicating how she feels about that order. Meanwhile, Garrus, Ian, and I start searching.

Garrus and Ian walk off towards a bank of terminals, probably to see if they can find any useful data. On the other side of the bunker, I spot a section of lockers and other storage type things. I head on over to them and start rifling through.

Hmm, some tubes of medigel—might as well take them—some thermal clips that I use to replenish my dwindling supply, some canned food that's of no use to us now, and… Hello, what's this?

I take out what appears to be some sort of radio or something. Probably for listening to emergency broadcasts or something. Out of curiosity, I turn the thing on. The sound of static fills the bunker. I look around on the device to see if there's a way to change the frequency or something, but it appears to be made specifically for this one frequency. Well that's disappointing. I turn the radio off and alert the others about the supplies in the lockers.

"Have you two found anything?" Jenny asks, looking at Ian and Garrus, who are busily messing with the terminals.

"We're…not sure yet," Garrus says. "According to some data on here, this colony has a GARDIAN defense network, but I don't remember seeing defense turrets on the map."

"Wait, here's something," Ian says. "Apparently they were installed only about a week ago by the Alliance at the request of…" He trails off and looks up at me. "At the request of Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko."

Wait…what? That doesn't make any sense. I thought Horizon always had the GARDIAN system, but in the game, they needed the Virmire Survivor to help calibrate them or something. I knew that Kaidan being on Horizon pretty much the whole two years was different from canon, but…there weren't any defense systems.

"Well dang," Jenny says. Then she also looks at me. "Looks like Kaidan took your warning to heart."

…

Wha…? I…that thought hadn't even entered my mind. Did he…? Because of…?

"They're fully installed and powered, but apparently no one could calibrate them correctly," Garrus says with a hint of derision. "If we could find the main control for the system, I could calibrate them and turn them towards the Collector ship."

"There's no info on where the control terminal is?" Jenny asks.

"None that we've been able to find. That data might be somewhere else. Or if we can find a survivor, they might know."

"Then everyone take what you need from the supply cache and let's get moving. There's another bunker not that much farther from here."

Five minutes later, we exit the first shelter, ready to move on to the next one. Once back in the colony proper, the Collector attacks begin with their previous frequency. It seems like we can hardly move a block without killing a group of the buggers (ha!) first.

Surprisingly, I haven't noticed any signs of the Collectors'…activities. No colonists frozen in stasis, none of the pods that the Collectors use to transport the people they capture, nothing. I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Also, we haven't seen hide or hair of Harbinger yet. And _that_ is certainly a good thing.

It takes about fifteen minutes for us to fight our way to the next bunker. Somehow, we've managed to avoid any injuries, but having thought that now, one of us will probably get shot sometime soon. Man, I never quite realized how many worries would come with being the medic.

To get to the bunker faster, we decided to start cutting through buildings. We ran into fewer enemies, but the close-quarters fighting was more intense. According to the map, we're in one of the houses bordering a large courtyard in front of the entrance to the bunker.

Looking out the window, we see a…less than promising sight. The courtyard is filled with Collectors, and it looks like a few of them are trying to hack the door to the bunker open. That's…not a good thing. But on the other hand, it probably means that there are survivors on the other side. Apparently Jenny has the same thought.

"Alright, we need to clear these Collectors out fast," she says, still looking out the window. "If they break into the bunker, the people in there are goners. Ian, get up to the balcony. When I give the word, take out the Collector trying to hack the door then provide sniper support." Ian just nods and heads upstairs to the balcony. "Dylan and Garrus, when Ian starts us off, head outside and take cover behind the low wall in front of the house. Jack and I will stay here and cover you."

The rest of us nod, and Garrus and I head to the door, ready to rush outside after Ian takes his shot. Jenny and Jack have taken up positions by two of the windows looking into the courtyard. Jenny looks around, making sure everyone is in position. When she's satisfied we are, she tabs her radio.

"Go."

I barely register Ian's shot as Garrus and I rush out the door and duck behind the wall. Though from the Collectors' reactions, I'm guessing he hit his mark. Shots start whizzing over our heads almost as soon as we get into cover. I keep my head down until they start directing their fire elsewhere. When I feel it's safe, I poke my head over the wall to get a read on the situation.

There are about a dozen Collectors spread out across the courtyard, and I already see two dead ones on the ground. Luckily for us, they don't have that much cover on their end, meaning it's basically a shooting gallery for us. That doesn't mean we have an easy time clearing them out, it just means that they present bigger targets. Unfortunately, there are more of them than us, meaning they can suppress us very easily.

It takes a good five minutes for us to clear most of them. Unfortunately, with only two left to go, I see another group of them off in the distance, flying towards the courtyard. I mentally sigh. Nothing can ever be simple, can it?

And to make matters worse, as the group—which has another dozen Collectors in it—descends, one of them starts glowing, making it appear demonic.

"_Assuming direct control!_"

Fuck.

"What the fuck is that thing?" Jack asks as Harbinger descends.

"Whatever it is, I say we kill it fast!" I say, starting to unload rounds into it. The others seem to agree with me, based on the sheer amount of firepower directed at him. His barriers are unbelievable, though. The bastard managed to take one of Jack's warps and _still_ have barriers left over.

_Your presence here changes nothing. You cannot hope to defeat us._

Oh god, not this again. I really wish every Reaper didn't decide that _my_ mind was the place to talk shit. And especially during a firefight in which he's also spouting _verbal_ nonsense at us. I do my best to not let it get to me.

It takes a second warp from Jack to break through his barriers, but now we still have to break through the tough chitinous armor. This is where incendiary ammo really comes into play. Soon enough, Harbinger's drone is a smoking pile of ash on the ground. Luckily, no one got hit by one of his freaking super attacks because I have _no_ idea how to even begin treating an injury like that.

With Harbinger gone, we manage to make short work of the remaining Collectors. The silence that follows is a welcome replacement for the din of battle. After about a minute of silence, it appears that no more Collectors will show up. Somewhat hesitantly, Jenny exits the house she had been using for cover. Garrus and I also stand up from behind the wall. Nothing bad happens, so Jenny calls Jack and Ian to meet us outside.

"So does anyone know what that thing actually was?" Garrus asks.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't an ordinary Collector," Jenny says. "It mentioned something about assuming control? Maybe it's the Collector leader, and it can somehow control its minions."

"Maybe the Illusive Man has an answer," I say, forgetting if he actually does. "But that idea sounds as good as any."

"Whatever it was, we know it's dangerous. Be on the lookout for it showing up again. Now let's go see why they were so interested in this bunker."

She leads us to the door of the shelter, but before she can press the intercom to call whoever might be inside, the door opens. She looks back at us, and I just give her a shrug. If the door is opening for us, whoever's inside must want to talk to us. With a small nod to herself, she walks inside, the four of us behind her. Once inside, the door closes behind us with a resounding thud.

A figure steps out from a dimly lit section of the bunker.

"Hey, kid. Looks like you were right."

**A/N: And there we go! Horizon part one is finished! Man, I can't wait to get the next one out. Some fun things planned for chapter 19.**

**So I've addressed something that a few of my readers brought up to me after last chapter. They said it was difficult for them to remember the contents of the previous letters between Dylan and Vi. Seeing as I have the master copy, that thought never really crossed my mind. So I'm happy to announce that I'll be keeping all the letters on a page of my tumblr. Whenever there's a letter in a chapter, I'll put it with the rest of them on tumblr so all you wonderful readers will be able to see the full progression. **

**So that's over at therev28 . tumblr . com(e)**

**Also, if any of you are looking for a forum to join here on the site, might I suggest Aria's Afterlife, currently the #2 forum in the ME section? It's a great place to hang out and meet fellow ME fans. (Plus, I'm a mod, so...there's that.)**

**Anywho, that's pretty much it for now. Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	19. Reunion

**A/N: Alright folks, I'm back! I'm not even gonna bother with excuses this time because they're the same as always. So enjoy the chapter!**

**Reunion**

"And it looks like you took my advice," I say as Kaidan steps forward. We both stand there staring at each other for a moment before Kaidan's face erupts in a big smile. He offers me a handshake, and I return it while also pulling him into a bro hug. "I'm glad to see you're ok, Kaidan."

"And I'm just glad to see you," he says. Then he looks behind me at Jenny, Ian, and Garrus all standing there. "All of you." He then proceeds to give Jenny a hug and Ian and Garrus handshakes.

During our little reunion, quite a few colonists make their presence known. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that there are this many in a single bunker. But hey, I certainly won't complain.

"So what's the situation, Kaidan," Jenny asks once all the reunion stuff is done.

"Not too bright, Shepard," he says. "But I suppose it could be a whole lot worse."

"That's a little vague. Care to explain?"

"Might as well just give you the whole story. After Dylan's call a week or so ago, I just couldn't escape the feeling that he was right, even though it sounded crazy at the time." He shoots me a lazy grin. "I figured some extra defenses for the colony wouldn't hurt, so I had the Alliance send a GARDIAN battery. We installed them a few days ago, but the calibration software was buggy; we never got them aligned right.

"When the communications went black earlier today, I wasn't taking any chances. I figured at best it was a slaver raid and the Collectors at worst, so I ordered everyone in the shelters. The Collectors landed soon after." He pauses and looks down, a look approaching anguish on his face. "Not everyone was in a bunker. I did what I could, but I had to retreat in here before I got overwhelmed. All in all, only half of the shelters have reported in. Granted, there are more shelters that strictly needed, but we're still looking at the third of the colony that didn't make it to one. Now you show up, and I suddenly feel like we can kick the Collectors off this planet."

"You have my promise that we'll make the Collectors pay for what they've done here," Jenny says. "If you want to help us, tell me where the main control for the GARDIAN battery is. We can get it calibrated and give the Collectors the welcome that they should have gotten."

"I'll do you one better, Shepard," he says, smiling. "I'll take you there myself."

"I'm not asking you to do that, but if you're sure, I certainly won't say no."

"Nothing could keep me away from helping you save this colony. Though…I'm guessing since you even made it this far, you found a way past those bug swarms. Is it something that I can share with the other shelters?"

Jenny nods. "I'll have Dylan set you up with the countermeasure. I'm also going to radio back to the Normandy and have the rest of my ground team land in the colony to start rooting out Collectors. While we get the GARDIANs back online, they'll clear the rest of the colony. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful," he says. "If that's it, you're free to resupply while I get the countermeasure to the others." Jenny nods and takes the others towards the supply area.

Kaidan motions for me to follow him, and the two of us walk through the bunker to the communications room. "Dylan, I need to thank you for everything you've done," he says as we're walking along. "And I need to apologize for how I acted when you called."

"Kaidan, don't," I say. "You don't need to thank me for anything, and you _definitely_ don't need to apologize for anything. I'm just glad that you and a good portion of the colony are ok."

"But that's the thing; neither of those would be true if you hadn't warned me. Look, kid, I know it might be a shock, but…you saved us. So thank you. From all of us."

I…don't really know what to say after that. I don't know what a scarier thought is: that I almost didn't call Kaidan at all, or that they wouldn't have had the defense system if I hadn't called. Luckily, we reach the comm. room before I can think about that any further. When Kaidan is ready, I give him the countermeasure frequency.

"Now, make sure that they play this _exact_ frequency," I say as he gets the equipment set up. "Professor Solus and I calculated it down to the nano-hertz, and a single deviation will render it ineffective."

"That's impressive," he says. "And don't worry; I'll make sure the other bunkers know the importance of precision. You go ahead and get resupplied while I finish this up." I simply pat him on the shoulder and head back to where the others are.

"So who's the boy scout?" I hear Jack ask as I approach the supply locker.

"Kaidan Alenko, one of my old squad when I took down Saren," Jenny says. "He knows this colony inside and out, and as far as I'm concerned, that gives him a great deal of authority while he's with us. If he gives an order, I expect you to follow it." She pauses and looks at the rest of us. "That goes for all of you, got it?" Garrus, Ian, and I don't seem to have a problem, but Jack has a big scowl written all over her face. Surprisingly, though, she doesn't argue.

"Alright, Shepard, are you ready to go?" Kaidan asks a few minutes later, walking up to us.

"We are. So how far is the main control?"

"Straight line path, it's not too far. Unfortunately, there are some buildings in the way. If we were just walking there, I'd probably say five or ten minutes. If we're having to fight for every yard, it'll take longer." I sigh quietly to myself. This mission is starting to get on my nerves.

"Then we don't have any time to waste," Jenny says. "After you, Kaidan."

He leads us through the bunker to the opposite side that we came in. He grabs a random colonist to close the door behind us. On three, he opens the door and the six of us rush out. Thankfully, there aren't any Collectors immediately on the other side, so it's a good start.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we're soon under fire from Collector forces. A group of them flies in and lands in the middle of the street about 20 meters ahead of us. And to make matters worse, as we scatter and take cover from Collector fire, I hear a hauntingly familiar moaning sound. Oh no…

Five husks come running out of an alleyway ten meters in front of me. Before I can get any shots off, Jenny's voice comes over the radio.

"Kaidan, grab as many of them as you can in a pull," she says. "Jack, when they're floating, shockwave." She gets no verbal confirmation of her orders, but proof that they heard them comes very quickly.

In a second, three of the husks are floating helplessly in midair. The other two continue running at us, oblivious of their companions' plight. They don't make it very far. True to the power's name, I can feel Jack's shockwave as it hurdles towards the husks. It completely decimates the two still running at us, sending them flying. When it reaches the ones still caught in Kaidan's pull field, it detonates, obliterating the remaining three.

It was over in five seconds.

Holy shit! Why can't every fight be that quick? Unfortunately, bullets pinging against my shield remind me that this fight isn't quite over yet. We still have about ten Collectors still downrange to take care of.

To start things off, Kaidan manages to curve a pull around the Collectors' cover, lifting one of them into the air. The bug soon has two new holes courtesy of Jenny and Ian. I take shots at any Collector that happens to be out of cover, but they do the same to me. Unfortunately, this is a straight road. All the buildings lining it are locked, and the few alleys that run off it are all dead ends. There's quite literally no room to maneuver, so the six of us settle in for a drawn out fight.

It's not a pretty one. The whole thing takes almost five minutes. From what Kaidan said, we could have been to the control center by now, but instead, we've moved all of 100 meters. Hell, I can still see the bunker behind us. At least the first fight is over. The six of us regroup in the center of the street.

"It's good to have you back on the team, Kaidan," Jenny says with a smile. "Even if it's only temporary."

"It feels good to _be_ back, Commander," he says, returning her smile.

"I probably should have asked you this back in the bunker, but have you learned any new tricks since we fought Saren?"

"I've been working on something, but I haven't tried it in combat yet. Still don't quite have the technique down."

"Then you're on lift duty," she says. "Jack, if you see a target floating in the air, feel free to detonate it. And the three of you just keep doing what you're doing. Now let's get moving."

Kaidan takes his place up front with Garrus and I. He's in the middle and slightly ahead, acting as our guide to the control tower. Just like our trip to the bunker, we literally have to stop and fight every block. No single group has more than ten enemies, but there's hardly ever any break in between fights. Jenny keeps us moving at a fast pace, and we're all keenly aware that every minute that the guns aren't online is another minute that the Collectors have to load more colonists on their ship.

Nothing about this mission has been easy, but I wasn't expecting it to be. On the other hand, we haven't really run into a single incident that was challenging; we've just had _a lot_ of firefights. After about ten minutes, Miranda's voice comes over the radio.

"Commander, Crackdown team has landed planetside," she says. "We'll start sweeping through the colony and hopefully take some of the pressure off your team."

"Good luck, Miranda," Jenny says. "Stay safe."

"And you as well, Commander."

Believe it or not, it actually seems like we encounter fewer enemies after the second team landed. We still run into a group every block, but those groups seem to be smaller than before. Right now, I'll take anything I can get.

According to Kaidan, the main defense control is on the other side of the wall at the end of the street. Hopefully that means just one more firefight before we finally get to our destination. It's been almost a half hour since we left the bunker with Kaidan, meaning we've been on the planet for almost two hours. When this mission is over, I'm gonna go sleep for a few days.

Ok, when I said "street" I really meant a sort of courtyard. Not many parts of this mission have looked like the game so far, but this one does. It's a rather open, multi-tiered area filled with interconnecting pre-fab buildings. It basically looks just like the area in the game.

And just like in the game, there's a group of enemies waiting for us on the lower tier. Looks like a full dozen Collectors with another half dozen husks. Everything starts off fine; we scatter and take cover, Kaidan pulls the husks that are charging at us, and Jack detonates them. Boom, there go four of them. Though the two that are left…why are they red? I don't remember there being any red husks. Oh well, they shouldn't be any problem.

Garrus and I focus on the last two husks while the others start directing fire towards the Collectors. Half a thermal clip goes into my target, but the damn thing keeps running at me. That's weird; usually it'd be dead by now. Three more quick pulls of the trigger, and—

_BOOM!_

A small shockwave impacts my body, knocking me on my ass. Thank god, too, because a moment later, I see a small fireball fly over the top of my cover. Getting up, I look at where the husk had been to find a small crater.

Did…did that thing just explode? Husks explode now?! Man, fuck that. I tab my radio to tell the others of my new discovery.

"So just a heads up, if you see any red husks, watch out," I say. "They kind of explode when they die."

"We noticed," Jenny says. "But thanks for the heads up. Those are now priority targets. Do not let them get close." Everyone acknowledges her order and gets back to fighting. Garrus must have killed his red husk around the same time I did because I don't see any enemy besides the Collectors.

Now that it's just them, we fall into the same pattern we've been repeating for the past half hour. Unfortunately, that falls apart when one of the Collectors suddenly starts floating in the air and glowing. Well…that's not good…

"What is that thing?" Kaidan asks as the rest of us focus our fire on Harbinger.

"We'll explain later!" Jenny says. "Right now, just lift the thing! Jack, when it's in the air, explode it." I see a ball of dark energy fly towards Harbinger, who has now landed back on the ground and is shooting at us. The pull hits the Reaper's avatar with absolutely no effect.

"Damn, it has some kind of barrier, Commander. My pull can't work through it."

"Then just start shooting. Jack, throw warps whenever you're ready."

Immediately, a second ball of dark energy goes flying towards Harbinger, and unlike Kaidan's pull, this one actually seems to have an effect. There's a strong distortion in the faint purple barrier that he's keeping up.

Now of course, the entire time that Jack and Kaidan were displaying their biotic power, the rest of us were trying to kill Harbinger the old fashioned way: with bullets. His barrier finally falls after a full thermal clip—not to mention the sniper shots from Jenny, Ian, and Garrus. The bastard just keeps advancing towards us, though, slinging those damn power attacks that he has.

Suddenly, there's a loud, feminine scream.

"Dylan! Jack's down!" Jenny yells over the radio. "Go take care of her while we lay down covering fire!"

Oh shit. This isn't good. I've never actually treated anyone in the middle of a firefight. So far, every injury has occurred at or near the end of one. There are still eight Collectors out there, one of which is Harbinger. I take a few deep breaths while the others start laying down suppressive fire. I give it a few seconds just to make sure that the Collectors have their heads down. One more deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

I pop out of cover and haul ass over to where I last saw Jack. Unfortunately, it's very hard for four people to successfully suppress eight enemies, so I still feel quite a few shots ping against my shields. You know, if I'm gonna be making mad dashes like this more often, I need stronger shields.

Luckily for me, Jack fell back behind cover, so I don't have to try and move her to safety. A quick inspection shows no armor penetration, and there's no blood pooling anywhere, so I think I can safely rule out a gunshot wound. There are some charred areas on the front of her breastplate, but there's no indication as to what caused it. Her eyes are screwed shut, and her mouth is wide open in a silent scream. I'm guessing there's some incredible pain going on, so I fall back on a medic's tried and tested fast-action pain reliever: morphine.

I quickly fish out a small shot of the powerful analgesic from my medical pouch and remove the right arm of her armor. Good thing this stuff doesn't need to be injected into a vein; I don't have time for that at the moment. I administer the shot to her upper arm. Within about fifteen seconds, her whole body seems to relax a little, meaning the morphine has started to take effect.

Unfortunately, I can't take my attention away from her on the chance that something happens. After about a minute, her eyes flutter open, and she tries to sit up. I gently push her back down.

"What the fuck happened?" she mutters.

"I have no damn clue, Jack," I say. "You got injured somehow, but it wasn't a gunshot wound. You were in incredible pain, so I gave you a shot of morphine. Right now, I need you to stay down and keep still until the fight is over."

"Fuck that. You ain't the boss of me." She tries to sit up again, and I push her back down—only this time I'm not as gentle.

"Jack, don't fight me on this. You're injured; I'm the medic. Right now, I have more authority than Jenny. I could call for a medevac and have you taken off active duty, and I'm sure you don't want me to do that. So stay the fuck down and keep the fuck still." She scowls at me—which is pretty scary by the way—but she eventually does as I tell her. Once I'm sure she's not gonna try and move, I poke my head around the corner to see how the fight is going.

It looks like the Collectors are down to three—_Bang!_—make that two. Those last two seem perfectly content to stay in cover.

"If you can keep those things down, I'll take care of them," Ian says over the radio. We click our radios in acknowledgement and start sending even more rounds down range. Fifteen seconds later, Ian suddenly appears with his sword poised above one of the Collectors. He thrusts down, impaling the creature before flickering out of sight. A moment later, and the final enemy suffers the same fate.

With all the hostiles gone, I turn back to Jack, who is still obeying my orders and lying on the ground. "Alright Jack, the fighting's done, so I want you to try and sit up very slowly," I say. "You might feel slightly dizzy from the morphine for a few minutes."

"What the fuck, Owens?" she says, sitting up and putting her back against the wall. "It's been 30 fucking seconds. Would it have been that big a deal if I had just gotten up earlier?"

"Yes, it would have. I didn't want you getting up and finding yourself in the line of fire."

"I could have handled myself for 30 fucking seconds."

"Really? Try raising your barrier," I say on a hunch, really hoping that I'll be right. She smirks at me then concentrates for a moment. Nothing happens. She looks slightly concerned as she tries again. Still nothing. Then she looks up at me with fire in her eyes.

"What the fuck did you do to me?!"

"The morphine's currently suppressing your biotic ability. When the drug first starts to work, it tends to block the eezo nodes. It wears off in a few minutes, but I knew that it hadn't _been_ a few minutes."

"And that's why you always listen to the medic, Jack," Jenny says, approaching us. Ian, Garrus, and Kaidan are right behind her. As Jack scowls at me and starts to grumble, Jenny looks at me. "How long till she's ready to go?"

"I'd give her five more minutes," I say. "That leaves plenty of time for her biotics to come back."

"Then we've got a five minute break. Use it wisely; I get the feeling it'll only get tougher once we reach the main control." With that, she takes her own advice and walks off a bit, sitting down against a building. Ian and Garrus walk off together and round a corner out of sight. I have to stay here with Jack to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. Surprisingly, Kaidan sticks around, too.

"I didn't know you were a medic, kid," Kaidan says. "When did that happen?"

"I told you I worked at a clinic on Omega," I say, smirking behind my mask. "You losing your memory, old man?" He punches me in the shoulder.

"So I forgot. Sue me. It's not like I had the defense of an entire colony to worry about or anything. Besides, I like having another medic on the team. Takes some of the stress off of me. Though I don't know what I would have done for this injury. I'm not seeing anything ordinary."

"Yeah, it was rather difficult. In the end, I just defaulted to morphine to kill the pain." I pause and look down at the biotic woman sitting at my feet. "Care to shed some light on what happened, Jack?"

"That fucking glowing bug happened," she says, scowling. "That fucking ball attack caught me square in the chest. Had my barrier up and everything. Fuck lot of good that did me. It hit me, and next thing I knew I was being fucking super-warped or something. That's the only way I can describe it."

"Maybe that's where those burn marks came from," Kaidan says, indicating said marks.

"If so, it's a good thing you were wearing armor," I say, giving her a pointed look. This time her scowl is directed at me, but she doesn't say anything.

Five minutes later, Jack is able to use her biotics again, so it's time to move out. Surprisingly, we don't encounter any more resistance on the approach to the main control. That's odd; I thought there were more enemies. Maybe Miranda's team really stepped their game during our little break. Whatever the reason, I'm not gonna complain.

When we reach the area where the main control is, I'm slightly chagrinned to see that it's pretty much exactly like the game: a large open area with a big antenna in the middle. I mean sure, there are some boxes scattered here and there for cover, but it's still pretty open. Not gonna be fun…

The six of us enter the courtyard to the sound of moaning. I sigh to myself. Great, more husks. Unfortunately, what shambles into view isn't a husk; it's a scion. Scratch that, it's _three_ scions.

Shit.

Before anyone can ask what they are, all three of the monstrosities send out their freaking super-shockwaves. Of course, one of them heads straight towards me, and my legs act without any conscious order from my brain, propelling me out of the blast radius. I manage to somehow turn the dive into a sort of tuck and roll, ending up on my feet. That was kind of awesome.

No time to wonder how I did that, though. We need to kill these scions ASAP. Luckily there aren't any other enemies, so the six of us can focus fire very easily. My incendiary ammo proves its worth, absolutely ripping through whatever unnatural armor those things have.

Despite having an incredible range and recharge speed, the super-shockwaves are actually fairly easy to dodge. Even though it takes a while, we manage to kill all three scions without any injuries. I was keeping an eye on Jack the whole time, and she seemed alright. Maybe a slightly slower recharge on her biotics, but the power seems to still be there.

With the scions gone, we take a minute to make sure the rest of the area is secure. Once we're sure it's clear, we regroup around the main control tower.

"Well, here we are," Kaidan says. "I spent the better part of a day at this thing trying to make it work, but nothing did. If you think you can fix it, be my guest."

"Why don't I have a look at it," Garrus says. Obviously. "I've learned a few tricks, and the Normandy has a, uh…special VI for this stuff." Aw, you're gonna use EDI? That's cheating, Garrus. But at least he had the presence of mind not to mention her to Kaidan.

With EDI's help, Garrus gets to work calibrating the GARDIAN system. As much as I make fun of the whole calibrations thing, he really is good at them. The fact that an _AI_ is letting him do most of the work pretty much speaks for itself. The rest of us spread out and form a defensive perimeter around the tower. Kaidan and I end up choosing cover near each other.

A full minute goes by without anything happening. I know that the Collectors know we're here, so why aren't they attacking? The tension is palpable. I can't stand here any longer, waiting to be attacked.

"So Kaidan, you still together with Kassy?" I ask, looking over at him.

"Yeah, I am," he says. "Got to see her a few weeks ago on leave."

"Must be tough trying to work a long-distance relationship."

"Well, we both sort of knew it wouldn't be easy. She knows that I'll be away for long periods and only get to see her for about a week at a time. There have been some kinks, but we've gotten through them."

"Good. I'm glad to see that you two are still happy together."

"Trust me, so are we," he says, smiling at me. Then the smile turns slightly…mischievous. "What about you? You find anyone you care for?"

…Really, Kaidan? You know, I really shouldn't be that surprised. He always loved asking me stuff like that, usually to try and embarrass me. Jerk.

"Well, you see—"

A tell-tale buzzing sound alerts us to the arrival of a Collector attack. We quickly look up, searching for the source. Ten of them are flying in about 20 meters ahead of us, and one of them is already glowing. They really aren't holding anything back, are they?

Jenny, Jack, and Ian rush over to take cover near Kaidan and me. Everyone seems to have learned from Jack's mistake, so luckily no one gets hit by whatever power Harbinger has. I've been hit by a warp before, and according to Jack, this thing is way worse. No thank you.

We manage to clear half of the Collectors before Garrus' voice comes over the radio. "Guys, we've got hostiles coming in opposite side. I could use some cover!"

"Dylan and Kaidan, stay here and finish these enemies off," Jenny says. "Ian and Jack, come with me." With that, she runs off, the other two following close behind. Kaidan and I settle in for a nice firefight by ourselves.

We spend the next ten minutes repelling wave after wave of Collector. I'll admit, I'm starting to feel very tired. Almost three hours of combat is enough to wear anyone down…except maybe a krogan. Unfortunately, our only krogan isn't here at the moment.

Surprisingly, after we finish off the last enemy, there isn't another wave immediately incoming.

"How are those calibrations coming, Garrus?" Ian asks now that we have a free moment.

"I'm getting there," he says. "Probably 20 more minutes, top." As he says that, a low, ominous hum fills the air.

Off on the horizon (ha!), a rather large but indistinct shape flies towards us. Oh no…I've got a bad feeling about this…

It's a Praetorian.

Fuck.

The large monster lands in the courtyard with a biotic explosion. Luckily, none of us were near it when it hit, but I could still feel a bit of the shockwave hit me. After that little intro display, no one even needs to ask if this thing is powerful or not; everyone just dives for the nearest cover available.

The Praetorian hops up into the air and starts floating around. That seems to break us from our collective trance, and we start shooting at it. Its biotic barrier is very apparent, so Jack sends warp after warp at the creature. Unfortunately, this barrier seems to be even stronger than the one on Harbinger's avatars because the warps hardly seem to have any effect.

The thing just floats there for a few seconds before seeming to choose a target: Garrus. The stupid turian is still at the terminal, trying to get the guns online. The Praetorian's freaking laser eyes focus on Garrus, and his shields disappear in an instant. Luckily, he was quick enough to get behind something before it burnt through his armor.

"Garrus, get away from that terminal and help us!" Jenny says in between shots. "I'm sure the VI can finish what you've started."

"It can, but it goes quicker if I'm there!"

"This isn't open to debate, Garrus! Start shooting." In response, I can hear a new set of gunfire coming from the general area of the control tower.

Even under the sustained fire from six people—and Jack's biotics—this Praetorian does not want to go down. Of course it doesn't help that it replenishes its barrier every time we manage to break it. I doubt we've actually managed to hit the thing's carapace more than a few times. It's looking like this could take a while to kill this bastard.

About ten minutes into the fight with the Praetorian, we've barely scratched it. I do _not_ remember this thing being so tough in the game. Plus, there are _six_ of us this time around, not three like the game. By all accounts, this should have been an easy fight. I guess the universe thought I was having it too easy.

At the edge of my awareness, I swear I can hear another low hum in the air.

Somewhere behind us, there's a large crashing sound, followed by shockwave that almost pushes me out of my cover. I glance behind me.

It's a second Praetorian.

…

Really, universe? You make them tougher then throw a _fucking second one at us?!_ I am very angry at you, universe.

"Everyone scatter!" Jenny orders. "Try to find positions where you have cover from both of these things. If you can't do that, just keep moving!"

"How the fuck are we supposed to kill _two_ of these fuckers, Shepard?" Jack asks as everyone runs off in their own direction.

"Maybe we don't have to. EDI, how much longer on those guns?"

"Working at optimal capacity, the GARDIAN system will be functional in eight minutes," the AI says on the secure Normandy channel. I don't think Kaidan has that comm. frequency, so EDI's secret is still safe.

"You have five," Jenny says. "Take power from wherever you can spare; just get those guns online and firing!"

"Yes commander."

So we have to survive for five minutes. And I mean _survive_. I harbor no belief that we can kill both of these things before then. The next two minutes are spent frantically sprinting between cover, trying to stay out of sight of both Praetorians. It really isn't that easy. They will literally shoot at anything within their vision with their freaking eye-lasers.

Suddenly, someone cries out in pain.

"Dylan! Kaidan just got caught in both beams," Ian says. "We'll keep these things off your back while you take care of him!"

Damn it! This has not been a good mission injury-wise. But this is serious—even more than Jack's was—so I have to get over to Kaidan and trust that the others are doing their half of the job.

Kaidan managed to crawl over to some cover, and now he's sitting on the ground with his back against it. Right away, his injury is painfully clear: There's a large diagonal slash down his chest. It looks like the Praetorian's laser-eyes cut right through his armor, and the skin underneath is burned pretty badly.

My hands reach into my medical pouch of their own accord, pulling out a tube of burn-gel—it's basically medigel with some extra stuff added to treat burns. As I start applying the gel to the affected areas, Kaidan grimaces then looks up at me.

"Hey kid. Guess it's a good thing there's another medic on the team."

"Yeah, I guess it is," I say. "Though I thought you'd have known better than to move around with an injury."

He gives a weak chuckle. "You know what they say: 'Medics always make the worst patients.'"

"Then I guess I was destined to be a medic. Now you need to stay still so you don't agitate the burns. The gel should already be relieving some of the pain, but—"

Suddenly, my back erupts in a searing pain and my vision goes white for a moment. When my vision returns, my medic training takes over, and I place myself in between Kaidan and what must be the Praetorian. Turning around to face the enemy, I draw my Carnifex and start taking shots, not letting Kaidan be in its line of sight.

I'll admit, I'm terrified. Here I am, on the ground, deliberately placing myself in front of a Praetorian. Beneath its glowing blue eyes, I can see multiple husk heads, all staring out at me with lifeless eyes of their own. Each and every one of them is moaning, creating a deathly choir that's enough to drive a man crazy. It's like staring into the eyes of Death and having him look back at you.

CONSIDERING YOU HAVE LOOKED INTO MY EYES MANY A TIME, I DO NOT SEE HOW THIS INSTANCE IS ANY DIFFERENT.

But I have to protect Kaidan. He's my patient. It's my job.

AND WHAT A FINE JOB YOU HAVE DONE. OH LOOK…IT APPEARS THAT MY SERVICES WILL NOT BE NEEDED AFTER ALL.

Out of nowhere, I hear a scream, and suddenly something is on top of the Praetorian. It's…it's Ian! What the fuck is he doing?! Is he trying to get himself killed?

In one smooth motion, he draws the sword on his back and thrusts it down into the Praetorian's head. The creature's wail is deafening. It starts wildly thrashing about, trying to throw Ian off, but he's able to hold on to the blade which is still stuck deep inside the Praetorian. Somehow, he manages to get another thrust in, and it actually manages to scream louder.

A third thrust seems to hit something important because it actually succeeds in throwing Ian off its back. Its success doesn't last, though; the light in its eyes dies down, and the Praetorian falls back to the ground. In a moment, it's nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Before I can find Ian and start yelling at him for various things, the GARDIAN lasers come online and start firing at the Collector cruiser. After a few barrages, the remaining Praetorian retreats back to the ship. A minute or two later, the Collector ship fires up its engines and takes off, letting everyone on the ground heave a huge sigh of relief.

And right at that moment, my back decides to remind me that it's in a quite a lot of pain.

I collapse on my stomach next to Kaidan.

Everything goes black.

**A/N: Hey look, a cliffhanger. Big surprise there, right? But seriously, I hope y'all liked the changes I made to Horizon (some of which haven't been explored yet). I know this was an action heavy chapter, so I tried to offset some of that with non-action-y stuff.**

**Anywho, spring break is coming up for me, so hopefully I'll be able to get a chapter out in the next two weeks or so. Here's hoping. Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	20. New Horizons

**A/N: Hey folks! Look! I managed to get a chapter out this month! For a while there, I wasn't sure I would. Anywho, I know y'all have been waiting for this chapter, so enjoy!**

**New Horizons**

_A scream echoes through the blackness. A scream filled with such terror and unending pain that it pierces the very fiber of my being. Images flash across my consciousness faster than I can process. I try desperately to grasp at one, endeavoring to make sense of the scenes shooting through my mind. _

_Suddenly, it stops. The sights fade to black, and the echoes of the scream slowly die away. I heave a mental sigh of relief as the anguish slowly ends. _

_Abruptly, the void is once again replaced by visions. These, however, are coherent enough to comprehend and are unaccompanied by screams. A being on its knees: one hand clutching its chest, the other extended to the heavens. A flash, and the scene changes: more of the same beings, now running from an unseen terror._

_The cry of anguish starts again. The pictures begin to speed across my mind's eye again, too fast to grasp. The inhuman shriek continues, cutting through my soul, driven by the power of a trillion lives long since consigned to the annals of myth and legend. _

_Finally, a single image coalesces from the chaotic collage: three grey figures floating above a seemingly endless plain. The scream dies away, lost within the vast emptiness of the landscape. Words start entering my mind without bothering to disturb the air molecules in between._

_We still feel your presence. You cannot escape us. Remember that with strange aeons even Death may die…_

Consciousness suddenly shoots back to me as the mental tremors of the vision start to fade away. It hasn't changed that much from when I first got it, but the final part stull concerns me. Those three figures tingle something at the very base of my mind, some primal instinct left over from when humans still thought trees were a nice home.

Finally, I start to become aware of the physical world around me: most notably a blissfully cool sensation all over my back. Then comes the realization that I'm lying on my stomach—shirtless—and wherever I am is inside: There's a difference in the air, a sort of sterile quality. Wait…I know that smell. I'm in a clinic. Wonderful.

I slowly open my eyes and notice something else: I'm not on the Normandy. What the hell? If I'm not on the Normandy, where am I? A small groan escapes as I try to look around.

"Oh good, you're awake," a female voice says from somewhere behind me. Before I can look around and try to identify the speaker, a face appears in front of mine. It's a…rather attractive face, I'm not gonna lie: bright green eyes and dark blonde hair cascading down past her shoulders.

"I'm Dr. Boeshanz," she says, "but you can just call me Amber. How are you feeling?"

"I can't really tell," I mumble. "I just woke up. Why am I here? Also, where is here?"

"Well, when your friends brought you in, you were unconscious. You had a rather large second degree burn across most of your back—hence you being on your stomach right now. The burns hadn't been seen to right away, and it looked like there was some infection setting in." She pauses and gives me a warm smile. "I was able to clean the wound and prevent an infection, which is probably why you're awake so quickly."

"How long was I out?"

"About an hour," Amber says. "Your friends have been helping to clear the colony of whatever may have been left behind."

"Are they ok?" I ask, suddenly remembering that I wasn't the only one injured in the fight against the Praetorians.

"They were all fine last I saw them. Staff Commander Alenko was in for about ten minutes, but seeing as his wounds were treated on site—and rather well, I might add—I let him go."

"Alright, last question: When can I leave?"

"Such a hurry," she mutters with a small smile. "I want to keep you in here for another ten minutes or so just to make sure that there isn't any infection brewing."

"There's probably no chance that you'll just let me go now, is there?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Ha, you wish. I know you want to get out and help your friends, Dylan, but your health is more important. For now, you're stuck here with me."

"Well, I guess there are worse people to be stuck with." Wait…what did I just say? She laughs, confirming that I did, in fact, just say that.

"There certainly are," she says, getting up to start working at her desk. I spend the next few minutes just lying there, trying to think why the hell I said what I did.

After about five minutes, I hear the door whoosh open behind me. "Commander," Amber says, sounding surprised. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. You're not injured, are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm just here to pick up Dylan." And there's Jenny, come to get me out of here. Amber just sighs.

"You're going to insist, aren't you?"

"I am," Jenny says. "We need to get going." As soon as she says that, I start trying to push myself up off the bed. I initially feel a small sting in my back, but it quickly goes away. Suddenly, Amber's next to me, helping me get up. When I'm finally on my feet, I face the young doctor and give her a smile.

"Thank you, Amber, for taking care of me while I was out."

"It was my pleasure, Dylan," she says, returning my smile. "It's not every day I get to treat a cute war hero."

"Alright, we really need to get going," Jenny says, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the door before I even have time to realize what Amber just said. I barely have the presence of mind to grab the top half of my armor's undersuit. "Thanks for your help. Bye!"

The door closes behind us, and I just stand there for a moment, trying to figure out if I heard what I think I did.

"Come on, let's go," Jenny says, once again grabbing my arm.

"Why, is something wrong?" I ask, shaking her off and putting my top back on.

"Not really. I just know how much you hate being stuck in a medical bed." I can't help but chuckle.

"You know me so well. So what happened after I passed out?"

"Kaidan tried to treat your back, but he didn't have any burn-gel on him, and you used your only tube on his burns. We radioed and got you to the clinic. Once you were being treated, the rest of us went out to clear the colony of any remaining Collectors. Luckily, the second team was already well underway with that task, so it didn't take long."

"Jeez, it sounds like you guys got everything done already," I say as we finally step out into the open air again.

"Well, not quite," she says, starting to walk off. Not really knowing where I am, I simply follow her. "Kaidan's still working with Garrus on the GARDIANs, trying to figure out what went wrong so that it won't happen again. Until they're done, everyone else is just sort of wandering the colony, seeing if anyone needs help."

"So why don't you wander around with me for a bit?" Ian says, suddenly appearing next to me.

"Whoa, where'd you come from, bro?" I ask, a little startled.

"I was off that way." He gestures towards some other part of the colony. "Heard you two talking and thought I'd join you."

"Well I'm glad you did," Jenny says, looking at Ian. "I need to go oversee a few things before we leave. Would you mind staying with Dylan? I don't want him to be alone right after regaining consciousness."

He gives an exaggerated sigh. "I guess if I have to." Then he shoots me a grin.

"Thanks, Ian. I'll give everyone a call when we're ready to go." And with that, Jenny walks off to do whatever it is she needs to do. Ian and I keep walking, not really going anywhere.

After a few moments of silence, I decide to speak up. "So, I never got to say thanks for killing that Praetorian." Ian glances over at me and smiles.

"Killing seems like a bit of understatement," he says, voice just dripping with that droll British humor of his. I glare at him, but also grin.

"Fine," I say. "Mutilated sound better? Disemboweled?"

"Nah, mutilated is like a lack of precision. That was all finesse." His grin somehow gets even wider. "I was thinking destroyed myself. Maybe owned, but that seems kinda twenty-first century now."

A laugh escapes me. This is the first time we've _really_ bantered in a long time, and it's nice to see him acting more like his old self. "Yeah, it kinda does. Destroyed works for me. And my point still stands: Thanks." I pause for a bit as we keep walking. Then I think of something and shoot him another faux-glare. "Though couldn't you have done that when they first showed up?"

"Timing. All about timing," the little shit says. "Gotta keep people guessing with these things. Besides, Shepard'll love your scars."

Jenny'll love it? She never struck me as one to like scars. And boy, I'm starting to get a lot of them. I chuckle at the thought. "Just another set to add to the collection," I say. "I still like the ones from Sovereign the best, though."

"Oh, good point. Scars from a Reaper are _sexy_." He grins at me, and I grin right back.

"Thought you were a one turian kind of guy?"

"Shotgun scars are better," he says with a shrug. "Plus you're still lacking a few things turians have."

My mind starts thinking about what he just said, but I'm able to clamp down on those thoughts before anything bad happens. "Ok…I don't need to hear any more on that subject."

"Prude." He rolls his shoulders. "In all seriousness, I didn't use the sword earlier cos...well, still not entirely sure what I'm doing with it."

"Well I'm glad you finally decided to experiment. Saved both mine and Kaidan's asses."

"Felt like I should do something," he says. "Though considering how little guns do..." He sort of peters off as he seems to think of something. Then he groans. "Don't tell me I'm gonna have to stab it every time."

I laugh at how dejectedly he says it. "Unless Thane has some super-ninja-assassin move that can kill those things, it looks like you're our Praetorian killer," I say, patting him on the back. He sighs.

"At the very least, maybe he can teach me how to use it."

"Let's hope so. Carrying a weapon you can't use is just as bad as not having a weapon at all."

"Well, I can use it. Just not...with any particular skill." He pauses and grins at me. "I'll work it out."

I grin back at him. "Then let's hope Thane's as good a teacher as he is an assassin. And now that Horizon's done, we don't have to wait very long to find out."

"Course. Next round of squaddies," Ian says, starting to look contemplative. "Maybe we don't tell Samara about my run in with her crazy daughter?" Oh yeah…that was a thing. Yeah, I really don't know how Samara would react to that info. On the other hand…

"But what happens if she finds out on her own?" I ask. "She might get pissed that you didn't tell her."

"She's a justicar. I'd rather put off having her try to kill me, since they're usually quite black and white about people who've gotten in their way." Huh, he does sort of have a point. Yeah, he might be a little screwed by that situation.

"Well hopefully she doesn't decide to kill you," I say. Then I smirk at him. "It'd be quite a shame if I didn't have anyone to talk to."

"I dunno, man. You've always got Jacob," he says with a completely straight face.

"Yeah, because we both know that he's just a _wealth_ of interesting conversation."

He pauses and seems to consider the idea more. "Wait until Legion shows up and reprogram him with my personality?"

"That could get a little difficult," I say, pretending to think about it. "Never been that great with tech. Maybe Tali could help."

"She'd probably just shoot him."

"Well...hopefully not. I'm pretty sure that it's fairly important that those two learn to get along." I don't ever remember seeing anything about the quarian/geth thing in any of the ME3 trailers I saw, but there's no way that it doesn't turn out to be a major plot point.

"Shepard'll sort it out, I'm sure," he says, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I dunno about you, though, but I'm kinda biased towards geth."

"Yeah, Jenny'll figure it out," I say. "Tali's just like an adorable little sis, so I'd prefer not to lose her."

"Yeah, she's cute," Ian says. We keep wandering through the colony as a mini-silence descends between us. After a bit, Ian speaks up again. "Maybe we should stop speculating about everyone dying."

There's a long pause. "Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Especially after we just helped save Horizon."

"Collector General's gonna be pissed."

I chuckle. "More like Harbinger's _already_ pissed."

"Reapers are always butthurt about one thing or another," he says.

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too," I say, remembering back to our encounter with Sovereign. Then I remember the vision flaring while I was unconscious. I should probably let Ian know about that. "And I feel like the Auditors are starting to get a little more pissy."

He frowns. "Why?"

"While I was unconscious, the vision flared again. Remember how it used to be the Reapers at the end? Now it's these three hooded figures. They talk about...feeling my presence and that I can't escape them... It's a little freaky."

"Oh," he says, scratching his head and seeming at a general loss for words. "Well, on the bright side, at least they're only interested in you."

That earns him a Look. "I'm pretty sure it carries over to you, too. We're in the same boat, remember?"

"They're not haunting my dreams."

"The vision only seems to flare when I'm unconscious. And I've only ever seen them in the vision." I pause and let out a sigh. "I don't know. They just give me the chills."

"I don't blame you," he says, putting an arm around my shoulder. "But don't pay attention to them. I mean, think about it. If they're talking shit to you, that means they're taking notice. They're worried."

"Yeah, well...I am too," I mutter, feeling uncomfortable admitting that. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, sure."

"It was nice seeing Kaidan again," I say, going with the first topic that came to mind. "Too bad it couldn't have been under better circumstances."

"Yeah, it's good," he says. "I need to go talk to him at some point..."

"And at least he's not all pissy like in the game. He's actually on our side."

"Thanks to you." He smiles and gives my shoulder a squeeze. "Good job taking the initiative on that one."

"Yeah, well...I just couldn't let that happen, y'know?" I say without really thinking. Then my mind seems to catch up with my mouth, and I realize who I just said that to… "Shit, sorry bro, I didn't—"

"No, it's fine," he says, cutting me off. "The thought didn't even cross my mind."

I don't really know what to say after that, so the two of us lapse into a long silence as we meander through the colony. Even though we've been walking around looking for people to help, no one has been very receptive to our offers. It seems a little odd, but right now, I'm way too freaking tired to care. I don't know how I'm still managing to move.

After about five minutes of silence, we start chatting about random, unimportant things. Just idle chatter to pass the time. Ten minutes after that, Jenny's voice comes over the radio.

"Alright, guys, it's time to head back to the Normandy," she says. "Everyone meet up at the defense main control." It doesn't take Ian and me that long to make our way back there.

Unfortunately, as we reach the area, we see the shuttle take off. They didn't leave without us, did they? That's when I see Jenny, Garrus, and Kaidan standing off to the side. Huh…maybe the shuttle was full, so it'll have to make a second run.

"You two ready to go?" Jenny asks as we approach the group.

"Yeah. I'm exhausted," I say, sighing to prove that point.

"Hey, you had a free hour of sleep," Ian says with a smirk.

"There's a difference between sleep and unconsciousness. And even if they were the same thing, it definitely wasn't free. The price is right there." I point at my back.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Kaidan says. "You saved my ass back there." Ian clears his throat rather conspicuously, and Kaidan rolls his eyes and smiles. "You, too, Ian. You saved both our asses."

"Yeah, well, you know. Just doing my job," Ian says with his classic grin. "And besides, I'm sure this was just repaying you for saving my ass back on the old Normandy." Kaidan chuckles and smiles at that.

"I do miss the Normandy. We had some good times on that ship."

"We've got a new one, you know," I say on a whim. I know he won't come with us, but it doesn't hurt to try.

"I know," he says with a sigh. "And you know I'd love to join you, but I can't. Especially not now. Horizon needs me—needs the Alliance. I can't leave them."

"We understand, Kaidan," Jenny says. Soon after she says that, I can hear the sound of the shuttle off in the distance. Scoping out the horizon, I see it coming towards us. Jenny turns back to Kaidan. "At lease keep in touch this time around."

He smiles at all of us. "Will do, Shepard. Good luck, you guys. I wish we could have met up under better circumstances."

"We all do, Kaidan," Garrus says as the shuttle lands behind us. "But at least it could have been worse." Kaidan looks down when Garrus says that, closes his eyes for a moment, and takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, but tell that to the two hundred thousand people we couldn't save…" he mutters. "Anyway, good luck. I think you're gonna need it." He shakes our hands and even pulls Jenny into a small hug before we get into the shuttle. He gives one final wave as the door closes and we take off back to the Normandy.

As we're breaking the atmosphere, Kaidan's words finally seem to sink in. Two hundred _thousand_ people…and we did _better_ than in the game… My mind shies away from that number. Even though we saved two thirds of the colony, there were still two hundred thousand people we _didn't_ save. I should be happy that we saved so many, but knowing that there were that many people we didn't save leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I'm glad that no one else in the shuttle wants to talk because I'm suddenly not in the mood for it. The five minute ride to the Normandy is completely silent, and it seems like the others are just as lost in their thoughts as I am.

Once we board the Normandy, Jenny walks over to an intercom on the wall.

"Attention ground team," she says. "Get some rest. We'll debrief tomorrow morning at 09:00. But the rest of the day is yours. You've earned it." Wait, I don't even know what time it is now. Looking down at my omni-tool, I'm somewhat surprised to see it's only 18:00. I really should eat something after such a long, arduous mission, but at the same time, my body feels like it's gonna shut down soon. In the end, though, food wins.

I take the elevator up to the crew deck and step into the mess hall. It's actually surprisingly empty despite being right around dinner time. I guess most of the ground team is taking this opportunity to sleep. The only other squadmate is Zaeed.

"Hey, Zaeed," I say, walking over to Rupert to get some food. "That was some mission, wasn't it?"

"It was alright," he grunts. "I've been through worse."

I grab the plate that Rupert gives me and sit across from the old devil. "Yeah, you must have some crazy stories with a career like yours."

"You've got no fucking idea, kid."

"Any that stand out?" I ask, pushing my luck for some reason.

"Well, there was that other time I ran into the Collectors," he says, sort of zoning out a bit. "That must've been damn near twenty years ago. Partner and I heard about this huge cache of shit on some back-ass planet. We find this old mining camp with tons of eezo just lying around, waiting to be taken. No clue what happened to the miners, but we didn't give a damn. So we get the eezo on our shuttle and start flying off, right? All of the sudden, some giant fucking rock ship appears outta guddamn nowhere and takes out our primary drive. Secondary drive couldn't keep us up 'cause we were hauling so much shit, so my partner and I start dumping anything we could: fuel reserves, life support, even the fucking seats.

"Finally, it's just me, my partner, and the eezo. The bastard must have thought he was real fucking clever. Tried to get me with the old 'When you can't run, you crawl' bit. Idiot didn't even use it right. So I dumped him, too. Still managed to get away, and I didn't even have to split the haul."

"Wow…" I say. "That's quite the story, Zaeed."

"Keep it in mind if you ever think about trying to fuck with me," he says, getting up and stalking off. Ok…that was weird. Whatever. I'm too tired to care.

I quickly finish my meal and take the elevator down to the shuttle deck and my room. Once inside, I flop stomach-first onto my bed. I just lie there for a few minutes before getting up again and changing into regular clothes. I'll deal with my armor later.

Opening up my omni-tool, I notice I have an email. While the new message is just junk, it reminds me that I need to write Vi back. Maybe I should do that before I pass out…

_Howdy Vi!_

_I'm glad you enjoyed your hermit time, but I swear that you mention the mercs getting worse every letter. Even with increased security, that can't be a good thing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. But at the same time, I trust Jesse and Ronon to keep y'all safe._

_Yes, Jenny went to the crash site. I still think she's crazy for doing it, but I haven't really noticed any big changes since then. Still keeping an eye on her, though. And I don't know how I always end up as the shoulder to cry on. Just around at the right time I guess. Though no one can replace you ;)_

_Yeah, I had about a week off after that unexpected mission. It was _heaven_. Well, besides the crash site thing. But I actually just got done with another mission. This one was…daunting. I don't think I'm allowed to tell you any details, but I will say that I have some brand new scars on my back. I'm not sure what's next for us, but I'm hoping for at least a few days off. This mission really took it out of me. _

_Speaking of that, I think I'm gonna go pass out now, lol. Almost four hours of straight combat sure does tire a guy out. Who knew? _

_Anywho, take care, Vi!_

_-Dylan_

_P.S. How about "He swore to do no harm. Killing is allowed"? That sounds like Mordin, lol._

I press send, fall face-first into my pillow, and fall asleep immediately.

**A/N: Alright, so there's most of post-Horizon. I'll admit that that's not all I originally had planned, but I reached a nice stopping point with the letter, and I'm not gonna be able to write for a bit, so I thought I'd go ahead and give you guys a chapter anyway. I'll just start off next chapter with what I had to cut off of this one. No big deal.**

**I need to give thanks to S058 for giving me what is now Mordin's tag line and for pointing out some important details to me. **

**Anywho, that's pretty much it. I'm gonna try to get a chapter out in April, despite it being my last month of school (which means finals at the end of it...). Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	21. Old Friends

**Old ****Friends**

Eventually, my alarm manages to break through the heavy layers of sleep, and I slowly start to wake up. Jeez, I don't even remember setting an alarm. Hell, I barely remember falling asleep. But whatever. I open my eyes and check the time on my omni-tool: 07:00. Why the _hell_ did I set my alarm for this early? Then I realize that I went to sleep at 19:00… Man, I really was tired. After a few more minutes of lying in bed, I finally get up to take a shower and eat breakfast before the debrief at 09:00.

Half an hour later, I step out of the bathroom feeling all nice and clean. And of course, my stomach picks right then to remind me that I'm hungry, so I quickly round the corner into the mess hall. As I'm walking over to Rupert for my food, I overhear a conversation at one of the tables.

"What happened next?!" Grunt asks with a sort of visceral anticipation evident in his voice. "What happened after the batarian threatened your partner?!"

"If you'd fucking shut up, I'd tell you!" Zaeed says. Then he pauses for a moment as if to make sure Grunt won't interrupt. "That four-eyed bastard didn't have four eyes much longer. And even fewer balls." Grunt erupts into a fit of laughter. As I turn around with my food in hand, he starts banging on the table, almost tipping it over.

"Damn, what got into you, Grunt?" I ask, sitting down next to Zaeed.

"Massani here's been telling me stories about being a merc," Grunt says, still sort of chuckling. "I never knew a human could get into as much trouble as a krogan."

"I think Zaeed's more of the exception rather than the rule."

"Guddamn right I am," he says. "Only one human in this fucking galaxy can fuck up more shit than I do, and she's commanding the guddamn ship."

"Then I want to hear more stories," Grunt says with a manic grin on his young face. "Got any about krogan?"

"You ever seen a krogan without a guddamn plate on their head?"

"You know those come off?" Grunt asks, sounding a little abashed.

"Oh yeah, it's actually not that hard," I say, jumping into the conversation. "This one time on Feros, a krogan had me pinned to a wall. Managed to grab my knife and got a lucky stab right where the plate meets the rest of the head. Pushed down on the handle and the damn thing popped right off."

Grunt blanches a little, but Zaeed just ignores it and keeps talking. "Oh yeah, that's the best way to make a krogan squirm. Threaten 'em with that, and they'll do whatever you fucking want."

"I didn't think any non-krogan knew about that…" Grunt says, looking a little pale.

"Not many ever have the chance to find out. You fuckers'll rip most people to shreds before someone gets the chance. So that's your lesson, Junior: Never let a bastard get close enough to pop your plate. Rip him to guddamn shreds before he gets the chance."

Whoa, did Zaeed just call Grunt "Junior"? And Grunt _allowed_ that? That's kind of weird, but at the same time, I can almost see how those two could have a sort of mentor/protégé relationship. At least until Grunt joins clan Urdnot and starts learning under Wrex.

The three of us keep chatting for about an hour while I slowly eat my breakfast. Honestly, it's a little strange having a semi-normal conversation with Grunt and Zaeed of all people. Well…as normal as you could possibly have with these two. So it basically revolves around weapons, armor, and fighting. But still, it's kind of nice to see Grunt actually getting along with someone. Same with Zaeed, now that I think about it.

"I'm serious, Junior, if you ever get your hands on a guddamn Claymore, you'll be un-fucking-stoppable," Zaeed says, concluding a story that I've honestly forgotten the beginning of. Before Grunt can request yet another tale, Jenny's voice comes over the intercom.

"Ground team, please report for a meeting in five minutes. We've got some intel on our next assignment. Shepard out." Grunt, Zaeed, and I share a look before getting up from the table.

Five minutes later, everyone's piled into the comm. room. I still have no idea how eleven people fit in here. Especially when one of those people is a krogan.

"First off, I'd like to thank all of you for your efforts on Horizon," Jenny says, looking around the room. "We showed the Collectors that we're not afraid of them. We can beat them. We _will_ beat them. It's only a matter of time." A small chorus of "hooah's" echoes in the room, and Jenny's face erupts into a proud smile. "Unfortunately, the Collectors have gone to ground, so to speak, after such a defeat. But until then, the Illusive Man has given us three more dossiers."

She fiddles with her omni-tool for a moment, and three holographic dossiers appear above the table. "We have Thane Krios, an assassin, and Samara, an asari justicar, on Illium, and Tali'Zorah vas Neema on Haestrom. Seeing as Haestrom is deep within geth-controlled space, we're heading there first. Any questions?"

"Why are we wasting our time on a stupid quarian?" Grunt asks. "They're so squishy."

"Did you really just fucking ask that, Junior?" Zaeed says, giving Grunt one of the most evil stink-eyes I have ever seen. "Maybe I oughtta start pounding some history into that fucking head of yours, starting with the fact that Tali'Zorah here served with Shepard to take down Saren. What have you done with your guddamn life to compare to that?"

Grunt actually manages to look a little embarrassed and just grumbles to himself. Jenny just looks around the room with an amused expression.

"Anyone else have a question?"

"What do we know about the geth presence on Haestrom?" Jacob asks, always one to drive straight to the point.

"We won't have any concrete intel until we're in orbit around the planet, but seeing as it's fairly deep in geth space, expect high resistance," she says.

"Curious as to why quarians so far in geth territory," Mordin says, bringing a hand to his mouth in his classic thinking pose. "Possibilities almost endless."

"Well whatever their reason, we're going there and getting Tali out. If the rest of her team wants to continue their mission without her, they can; we're not trying to stop them. So we get in, grab Tali, and get out. Sound simple enough?"

"At least until we get there and find out things have gone to hell," Ian says, rolling his eyes.

"Ian, at this point, things going to hell is just part of the plan," Jenny says with a little grin.

"Have you chosen a ground team, Commander?" Miranda asks.

"Same team as Horizon," she says without any hesitation. I barely suppress a small groan. After yesterday, I _really_ would like a break longer than a day or two. But whatever. I'll suck it up.

Miranda gives Jenny a questioning look. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Commander?"

"We're recruiting Tali, who has previously expressed her…distaste for Cerberus, so I don't think it would be a good idea to bring any Cerberus personnel. Dylan, Ian, and Garrus already know her, so they'll be friendly faces. And I need a biotic, which means Jack." She looks Miranda in the eye for a moment, and the Cerberus operative simply nods her understanding. "We're currently making a hard burn for Haestrom. We'll be there sometime tomorrow afternoon. Unless anyone has anything else, you're dismissed."

No one else seems to have anything, so people start shuffling out. Almost out of habit, I fall in next to Ian and Garrus.

"Morning, guys," I say as we walk through the armory.

"Hey Dylan," Garrus says. "Ian and I were just about to get some breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

"I ate before the briefing, but I'll at least sit with you guys."

"Sounds good," Ian says before the elevator door opens and we step inside. When it opens again on deck three, Ian and Garrus walk over to Rupert while I grab a table for us. Ian comes back with a plate of toast with some honey and margarine, and Garrus has some…stuff. I don't really know turian foods, so it just looks like some sort of meat. I probably don't want to know what it is.

We sit in silence for a while as they start eating. I glance around the mess hall and see some Cerberus crew members just sitting around at one of the other tables. Hmm, I wanted to talk to Ian and Garrus about Haestrom, but that probably wouldn't be the best idea with Cerberus people around. Guess I'll just be more general.

"Can you guys believe that we're on our way to recruit Tali?" I ask, hoping to start a conversation. "She's one of the last people I'd think of for a suicide mission."

"Tell me about it," Ian chuckles. "I mean, I'm sure she'll be happy to be back on the Normandy; though, she might just be a little less enthusiastic when we mention the 'suicide' part."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll love the chance to go digging about the new engine, but I never really thought of her as a fighter, I guess."

"Whoa, I don't know about that," Garrus interjects. "She handles a shotgun better than you can."

"He makes a good point," Ian nods. "Plus you don't have those devastating tech skills."

"I don't doubt that she's capable, but I can't actually remember going on a single mission with her on the old Normandy. So to me, she was always just an engineer." I pause and grin at them. "But I do remember hearing stories of that shotgun of hers."

"Me too," Ian chuckles. "I think Wrex even admired her for it. Said she could handle a shotgun better than most krogan. I mean, he didn't say better than him, but still." He pauses. "Though I didn't see much of her on missions either."

"If I'm being honest with myself, I did that on purpose," Jenny says, suddenly sitting down next to me. Whoa, where'd she come from? I didn't even hear her approach. "She's just so...young, and it kind of felt wrong putting her in danger."

"She always struck me as capable," Garrus shrugs. "Naive, maybe, but she knew what she was doing on the field." He pauses and looks at Ian. "Kinda reminded me of you at C-Sec."

"Real cute, Garrus," Ian mutters, blushing.

Jenny and I chuckle before she speaks up again. "I know she was perfectly capable back then, and now that she's older, I don't think I'll have the same sort of subconscious desire to keep her out of danger."

"I still kind of think of her as a little sister," I say.

"I do know what you mean," Ian nods. "But she'll have matured after the Pilgrimage. She mentioned back on the Normandy once; quarians who come back always come back...kinda different, she said. They grew up. Wasn't sure if she wanted that to happen to her or not."

"It'll definitely be nice to have another friendly face around."

"Visor," Jenny says, completely deadpan. I give her a confused look. "You mean a friendly visor."

"You know what I meant." Meanwhile, Garrus and Ian just start laughing.

"That's cruel, Shepard," Garrus drones once he's done laughing, making Ian chuckle as he looks at the turian.

"What're you gonna do, Garrus? Report her up the Cerberus chain? I'm sure the Illusive Man will be furious."

"For being so pro-human, I'm surprised how many aliens we're recruiting," Jenny says. "It's probably too much to hope that he's seeing the errors in his ideology."

"He's just doing it for the sex appeal," Ian says, looking at Garrus and grinning. Ok, mind does _not_ need to go there.

"Or he just prefers aliens for a suicide mission," Garrus suggests, ever the pragmatist. "More expendable."

"Well seeing as no one's gonna die, I guess the joke's on him," I say. "People thought Ilos was a suicide mission, too. And we've got three of your four squad mates from that right here."

"I still wish all the old team could be here," she says, looking down at the table. "But I understand why some couldn't come."

"You and me both Shepard," Ian nods. "Wrex'd totally be up for it too. Hell, I've been in touch with him since the SR-1, and I think he wanted to come to knock some heads together on Omega instead of playing politics."

"I don't mind that he's not here," Garrus says. "Wrex was always...what's the human expression? Stealing my lightning?" Ian just stifles a laugh at that.

"Yeah, Wrex had a habit of stealing other peoples' lightning," I manage to say without laughing. "But that's what makes him Wrex. We had a good team back then."

"The best," Ian chuckles. "But still, we've got a few more to recruit, right? We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Three more," Jenny says, "and one of them is Tali. The other two are a master assassin and an asari justicar. There's no doubt that everyone on this ship is an expert at what they do, but it's hard to beat the chemistry we had on the SR-1."

"Yeah, I know," Ian says. "Not that I'm bashing anyone here, but I do kinda miss Kaidan and Wrex."

"And Ash," I mutter. Surprisingly, though, I can say it without as much pain as it usually comes with. "Too many good people who should be here right now."

"I'm just glad for the ones who _are_ here right now," Jenny says, smiling at the three of us. "You guys have no idea how much it means to me that you're here."

"You realize none of us have mentioned Liara?" Ian adds with a grin after a moment of silence.

"Well, I barely saw her," Garrus says. "She was always in the lab."

"I never really talked to her that much, either," I say. "But whenever I did, I had a good time. Does anyone know what she's been up to recently?"

"Nope," Ian shrugs.

"No idea," Garrus adds.

"I just got back," Jenny says, almost managing to keep the pain from creeping into her voice.

"Well I'm sure we're bound to run into her eventually," I say, glancing at Ian. He gives me a tiny nod in understanding. "Besides, weren't we talking about Tali before? Do you think it'd be too much to ask for an easy mission right after Horizon?"

"Yes," Ian nods, chuckling. "There'll be some ridiculous threat we'll have to deal with. Maybe a thresher maw."

"Or ten," Garrus chuckles.

"At least you'll be able to fight geth again," Jenny says to me with a cheeky smile. "It really will be just like old times." My god, she still remembers that?

"After the mercenary groups, I'm not sure I like that," Garrus admits. "Geth are actually intelligent."

"We managed to outsmart them two years ago on a regular basis," I say. "Though hopefully I won't have to save Ian from an armature again."

"Hey, I saved you from a Pretorian," Ian reminds me with a playful chuckle. "I think we're about even now."

"Eh, I guess. I'm sure one of us will be in the others' debt again soon enough."

"Sure," Ian nods. "That's usually how it goes."

"Though who knows, maybe it'll be someone else's turn to save one of us," I say with a rueful smile. "Mix it up a little, you know?"

"I like to think I save you all during every mission I'm on," Garrus says teasingly. "I mean, without me? No way would things go so smoothly."

"Uh huh," Jenny says skeptically, grinning at Garrus. "Says the turian who got himself trapped in his own base by mercs. Meanwhile, I'm your heroic commander."

"What you didn't know was that we had a secret plan to get ourselves out," Ian says, jumping to his partner's defense. "Didn't we, Garrus?"

"Oh yeah," the turian nods. "But it's secret. We couldn't tell you any details."

"So _that's_ why you two were so grateful when we showed up to save your asses," I say. Then I chuckle and shake my head. "Secret plan my ass."

"Riiiight. Dr. Owens playing the badass here," Ian chuckles, shaking his head. "I'm curious if you even chipped a nail on Omega."

"Hey, I'd like to see you try operating a free clinic in the middle of a Suns/Vorcha turf war. With three security guys. Without paying protection to either side."

"Well, if I had half a brain, I'd get a burly security guy with dreads and a load of mechs..." The smarmy Brit trails off, grinning. "Oh yeah, that's what Mordin did."

I roll my eyes, knowing that we could probably keep this going for hours if we wanted to. "As intimidating as Ronon is, one guy and some mechs isn't enough to scare away the Suns or the Vorcha. They're kind of stupid, remember? You've gotta bash their heads in a few times before the get the hint."

"No, really?" Ian asks, in mock surprise. "I never knew that."

"Cheeky bastard," I say with a grin. "It's a wonder I put up with you half the time."

"Airlock's only one floor up if you want to try throwing me out of it."

"I get the feeling Garrus wouldn't like that too much."

"Not particularly," Garrus says, giving a playful growl as he looks at me.

"Alright guys, can't have you throwing each other out of airlocks right before a mission," Jenny says, shaking her head and trying to hide a smile. "Save it for after we get Tali."

"Good call," Ian nods. "Gives me time to try and make friends with Grunt so he's got my back when Dylan tries to chuck me out."

"I've got Zaeed on my side, and he has Grunt on a proverbial leash," I say.

"That'd be funny to see," Ian says, grinning before it turns into a frown. "Or really, really weird..."

"And when the conversation starts turning like that, I think I'll use the time to make sure the Thanix cannon is up and ready," Garrus announces, putting his hands on the table and standing up. Ian quickly follows suit. "Never know when we'll need it."

"Hopefully we won't have to deal with any get ships at Haestrom, but it's nice to be prepared," Jenny says.

"You two have fun," I add as they walk towards the main battery.

"Those two really are inseparable, aren't they?" Jenny says after a while.

"In two years, I'm not sure if they've been apart more than a few days at a time."

"Good for them. I'm glad they found each other." She gives me a sideways glance and grin. "God knows it took them long enough."

"When did you finally figure out something was between them?" I ask.

"I think it was on Virmire when Ian got shot," she says after a moment's thought. "Garrus became way more protective that you'd normally get for just a friend. How bout you?"

"Right after Noveria. I was down working on some equipment, and they were talking by the Mako. I sort of overheard their conversation when they admitted their feelings to each other. I felt like a right bastard for it, but I couldn't help overhearing it."

She chuckles. "That _is_ sort of a horrible thing to do. But what's done is done. It's nice to see at least a few people find happiness in a time like this…" She sort of trails off as we make eye contact. After a brief moment, she breaks it and looks back down at the table. "I should get going. For some reason, the Illusive Man wants _more_ reports about Horizon. I'll call another briefing tomorrow when we're closer to Haestrom. Take care, Dylan."

"See you around, Jenny," I say as she gets up from the table and walks away.

I guess I should find something to do for the rest of the day…

####################

The rest of my day was spent doing…well, nothing. Everyone else was sort of doing their own thing, so I just chilled in my room. I actually went to bed at a reasonable hour and slept in till 11 the next morning.

Now it's 14:00, and I'm basically waiting for Jenny to call the brief. I know it can't be much longer now. I'm just sort of futzing around on my omni-tool to pass the time. Suddenly, my email pings, and I smile, seeing that it's from Vi.

_Hey Dylan!_

_Gosh, hermit time has been more abundant lately, actually! District feels back to normal, so I think everything with the turf war has finally blown over and we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief. Never thought I'd say I missed the good old days of mercs hassling the guards every couple days, but when that's all we've had to deal with it certainly feels fantastic. Plus I think they had to recruit some idiots of lower intelligence than normal to fill their ranks._

_Should I stake a huge flag on that shoulder? Or will all those tears that have fallen upon it do the job? ;) Seriously though, you being there for her during that was probably the best thing she could have had. I can't imagine what visiting your grave would feel like, but I'd guess probably not anything remotely resembling well._

_A whole week off? You jackass._

_Yeah, screw the whole "not allowed to tell you details" thing, how the __hell__ did you get new scars on your back? You __better__ have gotten a few days off! Is there another medic on the team? What the hell hit you that cut through _armor_?_

_Should I turn off overprotective Vi mode? :P_

_Seriously, take care of yourself. I'm not the gallivanting across the galaxy to save people type, but I'd give it a good go. I could probably convince Ronon and Jesse to come with me, haha. Actually, it'd probably be them doing the saving. I could just... provide support. Toss a thermal clip or five and slap on some medi-gel._

_I've got the next few days off and I am going to enjoy them like no other. There's a couple concerts here the next few days that sound promising. I heard about a petition to get the elcor Hamlet performance at Afterlife, but you can imagine how that went down. I'd hate to be the guy delivering that datapad._

_And Daniel's hollering for me. Take care!_

_-Vi_

_P.S. Hahaha, I like it. I can actually hear him saying that in my head, too. "Swore to do no harm. Killing not harm. Dead. Can't harm the dead." Etc. Imagine him saying that after delivering a perfectly executed headshot. It's brilliant._

I get about half way through my reply before Jenny's voice comes over the intercom.

"Would the Haestrom ground team please report for a mission brief. Thank you."

Of course the briefing would start before I could finish my letter. I don't think there was ever a time when I've replied straight away to one of Vi's letters. But I guess she knows I'm busy. Still, I like replying as quickly as possible. I guess there's no getting around it.

Five minutes later, Jenny, Ian, Garrus, Jack, and I are in the briefing room, looking at a holographic projection of the planet.

"The planet has a number of geth stations in orbit, meaning that their reinforcement supply is effectively limitless," Jenny says, cutting right to the chase. "As such, we are on a strict timetable for this mission. If we waste time, we run the risk of getting swamped by geth troops."

"So much for that easy mission you were hoping for," Garrus mutters to me.

"Scans of Haestrom's surface are rather difficult due to its sun," Jenny continues, ignoring Garrus' comment. "Dholen is releasing incredible amounts of radiation—much more than it should be for a star its age."

"And why the fuck should we care about that?" Jack asks.

"The increased radiation disrupts long-range communication and scanning. Any signal sent out gets scrambled after only a few miles. And we care about _that_ because we couldn't get a good reading of the geth presence on the surface. Now that we're in orbit, we'll be making a full revolution of the planet in an attempt to gain more intel."

"Do we know where Tali is?" I ask, hoping that we at least know _something_.

"According to the Illusive Man's intel, she's somewhere in the ruins of a quarian research outpost here," she says, highlighting a section of the planet. "The closest possible landing spot is around two klicks away, and we'll probably have to navigate our way through the ruins."

"Commander, we've got some initial readings coming in," Joker says over the intercom. "We're already picking up some geth chatter planet side, and beneath all that, we're hearing faint traces of a quarian distress signal. We might not have time for a full fly-by."

"Damn it," Jenny mutters, a brief flash of anger crossing her face. She looks back up at us. "I think we just ran out of time. Go get suited up and meet at the shuttle. We can finish talking tactics on the ride down. You've got ten minutes. Dismissed."

Ian, Garrus, Jack, and I hurry out of the briefing room to the armory. Good thing they're right next to each other. Even Jack feels the sense of urgency despite not being part of the old crew. Maybe she's just really eager to kill things… Either way, the four of us are armored up and at the shuttle in five minutes. Unsurprisingly, Jenny's already waiting for us.

Our Cerberus pilot does his pre-flight checks, and six minutes after Joker's warning, we're headed for Haestrom's surface.

"Alright folks, we've got no room for error here," Jenny says. "We need stealth, speed, and precision for this to work. Ian, you're our stealth expert. You'll be scouting ahead, trying to find ways around any geth forces. Every group that we can bypass gets us to Tali faster. If we can't sneak by, the fight needs to be over before they can return fire. Understood?" We simply nod. "You four are some of the best there are. If anyone can pull this off, it's you."

"Commander?" the pilot calls back. "You might want to be careful when you get out of the shuttle. Somehow the shuttle's shields are getting fried."

"If I may hazard a guess, Commander, the most likely explanation would be the radiation from Dholen," EDI says over the radio. "The increased electromagnetic activity is likely interfering with kinetic barrier capacitors. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will deplete your shields."

"That electro-shit doesn't do anything to biotic barriers, right?" Jack asks.

"I am uncertain. However, I theorize that biotic implants should remain unaffected."

A jolt runs through the shuttle, and the door opens, revealing the surface of Haestrom.

"Ian, I've sent you the nav-data we got from preliminary scans," Jenny says. "You've got point." The little Brit nods and hops out of the shuttle. We let him get about 50 meters ahead of us before we get out as well.

My first experience with Haestrom is…about what you'd expect. As soon as I step out from the shade of the shuttle, my shields immediately start beeping at me, warning that they're losing power. I can even feel the heat from the sun through my armor. It's sort of weird…it doesn't feel _hot_ on the planet, but the sunlight itself is very powerful.

We keep a distance of about 50 meters behind Ian as he scouts ahead. It doesn't take very long for him to radio back to us about something.

"Uhh, guys? You should probably come and regroup with me," he says. "We've got something we can't get around."

I let out a quiet sigh. Of course the first group of enemies is one we can't bypass. When we meet up with Ian, he's crouched next to an entrance to a building.

"What's the situation?" Jenny asks, crouching next to Ian.

"We need to go through this building. No way around it that won't take us way off course. I cloaked and went in to take a look. A short hallway leads to a big open courtyard that's ringed by a balcony. Geth snipers all around the balcony. It'd be tough enough getting through there _alone_. With you four, it'd be impossible."

"Could you get a count on the number of snipers?"

"I saw about five or six," he says. "Still could be more. Oh, I almost forgot the best part: The sun's shining all through the courtyard. Hardly a spot of shade at all."

"Then there's no way around it," Jenny says. "No time to complicate things on this. Run in, eliminate the targets, get out of the courtyard. You all know what to do." The four of us nod, and we quickly enter the building. We stop just before the courtyard, letting our shields recharge. After a few moments, Jenny nods.

We charge in.

I'm only vaguely aware of what the others are doing as the entire courtyard erupts into gunfire. I target one of the snipers off to the left as the cracks from a few different rifles fill the air. I quickly send an overload towards my target, causing the synthetic to spasm and fall into the courtyard itself. With the sniper left helpless on the ground, it's a simple matter to fill it with enough bullets to shut it down.

My shields beep, warning me that they're already down to 25%. Suddenly, what feels like a sledgehammer impacts my shoulder, throwing me to the ground. My shields are gone, but there's only a small fracture in the armor. Holy shit, these sniper rounds pack more of a punch than I remember.

Glancing up in the general direction of the shot, I get a glimpse of a sniper being thrown to the ground with biotics. Somehow, the thing is still able to move, so I send an overload at it. It doesn't get back up.

One last sniper shot echoes through the courtyard. Then everything goes quiet. For the briefest moment, the scene is almost peaceful.

"We need to keep moving," Jenny says, coming to help me up. "They know we're here now."

Then it looks like this is gonna be a _long_ mission.

**A/N: Hey folks, I'm back! Well, I was right about not getting a chapter out in April, but now that I'm back home for the summer, hopefully I can get chapters out quicker. Gods know there's some fun stuff coming up.**

**Anywho, there's not really much else to say about this chapter. So until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	22. Arguments

**Arguments**

Well, this certainly is an unpleasant situation… I seem to have just as much—if not more—trouble with destroyers as I do with krogan. I honestly don't know how I get into these positions anymore. I try reaching for my Mattock that's lying on the ground next to me, but the destroyer places a foot on my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs. As I'm struggling to breathe, the hulking geth levels its rather large shotgun at my face.

Yeah, definitely unpleasant.

Right about now would be a great time for—

The destroyer's head suddenly disappears, and a gunshot echoes out across the room. The big synthetic falls to the side, and I gulp air into my previously-vacated lungs. Tilting my head back to look behind me, I see an upside-down Jenny walking towards me. If she didn't have her helmet on, I'd probably see a smile on her face.

"What is this, the second time I've saved you from a destroyer?" she asks, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Something like that," I say. "Wanna give me a hand up?" She chuckles and shakes her head a bit before coming to stand over me. She grabs my outstretched hand and hauls my sorry ass off the ground.

"I thought it was only krogan that you had a habit of hugging," Ian says, walking up to Jenny and me with Garrus and Jack in tow.

"Oh, you know me…don't want to discriminate."

"Good thing Shepard's here to save your fucking, sorry ass," Jack says.

"Lord knows I save hers enough," I say with a chuckle.

"Then it sounds like we're even," Jenny says, giving me a little hip-bump. "Now come on, we've gotta keep moving. According to the map, we need to get through the rest of this building and cross a large outer area to reach Tali's probable position." She pauses and looks at Ian. "After you."

He gives a quick nod before shimmering out of sight. Luckily, his location is still on our radar, so we can follow him. Over the next five minutes, he leads us through the building, occasionally taking us along paths I never knew were possible.

We manage to descend all the way down to the ground floor without encountering any more geth. Unfortunately, that's when our luck runs out.

"We've got another group we can't bypass," Ian says over our secure channel. "There's only one way out of the building on this side, and it's got geth crawling all over it."

"Alright, pull back, and we'll figure this out," Jenny says. Thirty seconds later, Ian's back with us. "So what's the situation?"

"It's some kind of lobby: lots of glass doors on the far wall, a row of pillars running down the center of the room, and a stone counter-top on our end. It almost looks like a hotel."

"That would explain all the rooms we had to go through coming down," Garrus says.

"Yeah it would. But anyway, the geth have defenses set up by the doors, but they're facing the outside like they're trying to defend the building from something. They've got their backs turned to us, but there are a lot of them down there: probably twenty or so."

"Are there any places we could fire down on them?" I ask.

"Not that I saw, and the building schematics support that," Ian says. "But, that big counter should offer some pretty nice cover, not to mention all the pillars. So we should be fine on cover. The big problem is them trying to rush us once we start attacking."

"Ian, you and I will set up behind the counter and cover the center approach," Jenny says, coming to a decision. "Garrus and Dylan, you two guard the flanks. Jack, you'll stay with us and provide biotic support where needed. If we don't let them swarm us, we can win. Any questions?" We shake our heads. "Then let's go."

The lobby is almost exactly as Ian described. It takes us less than a minute to get set up in our designated positions. Jenny begins a countdown to when she'll start it off. When she reaches "three," all hell breaks loose.

An explosion rips through the geth defenses, sending a few of the AI flying backwards. The synthetics begin exchanging fire with some unknown enemy on the other side of the doors. I start looking around at the others, and they seem just as confused as I am.

"So, should we start shooting, too?" I ask.

"Might as well," Jenny says, right before sending a bullet through the back of a geth's head.

Immediately, half of the geth troopers turn around to face us. Well, this is about to get interesting. Of the ten geth that turn to face us, there's one destroyer, two hunters, three shock troopers, and four regular troopers. The destroyer and shock troopers head up the middle, while the hunters and regular troops split up to attack the flanks.

The hunter on my side shimmers out of sight, leaving me with two troopers to deal with. I overload one of them, making it fall to the ground in a flurry of sparks. While that one's down, I start sending rounds towards its buddy. Obviously, it starts firing at me, too, but its pulse rifle is nowhere near as accurate as my Mattock. I feel a few pulse rounds impact my shields, but they never drop below 75%.

I quickly finish off the two regular troopers and turn my attention to locating the hunter. Unfortunately, the thing must me jamming my radar. Wonderful. That means I've gotta find the invisible dude using only my eyes…

I start sweeping my eyes across the room, looking for something—anything—that could give me a hint of where this enemy is. A shimmer in the air, a shadow out of place… Nothing! There is no sign of this thing.

Suddenly, what feels like a sledgehammer impacts my side, sending me sprawling on the ground. My shields are gone, but I don't think it broke through my armor. Looking up, I see the hunter standing over me, so I roll away right as it fires another shot. Still on the ground, I quickly draw my Carnifex and start shooting. Two shots bring its shields down, and a third blows its head off.

As I stand up and pick my Mattock off the ground, my shields decide to come back. All of the geth on my side are dead, so I quickly look around to see how the others are doing. It seems like they're doing fine. Out of curiosity, I turn towards the door, only to see that only one of the geth there has been killed. Maybe I can help out there a bit…

A few seconds later, a grenade lands right behind the geth line, courtesy of me. The explosion only takes out two of the nine geth defending the door, but it serves its purpose as a distraction. In the precious seconds it takes for them to reach consensus on the bigger threat, three more are gunned down by the unknown presence outside. Though now that I think about it, it's not very hard to guess just who _is_ outside.

Barely a minute later, all the geth are destroyed. Still, we decide not to leave our defensive position yet, choosing to let the people outside come to us.

"Whoever's in there, if you're an enemy of the geth, you're a friend of ours!" a very familiar voice calls out through the door. "Can we come inside to escape this blasted sun?"

"Just keep your weapons holstered and you're more than welcome to join us in the shade," Jenny says back.

"Then we're coming in." A moment later, a group of three quarians walks through the doors and into the building. Leading the group is none other than Kal'Reegar himself. I can't say I recognize the other two, though.

"I don't know who you are, but you saved our asses," the marine says, coming to stand in front of us. "As far as I'm concerned, that makes you a friend." He quickly rips off a sharp salute. "Gunnery Chief Kal'Reegar of the Migrant Fleet Marines at your service, ma'am."

Jenny returns the salute. "Glad we could help, Gunny. Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Shepard, here to assist."

"Commander Shepard… Looks like Tali was wasn't exaggerating about your ability to kill geth. But now I've gotta ask what you're doing on this ancestors-be-damned rock."

"I'm here to recruit Tali for a mission."

He sighs quietly and shakes his head. "Well I'm sorry to say I can't let you do that, Shepard," he says, sounding genuinely regretful. "She's on a mission right now, and the Fleet takes precedence over past friendships."

"And just how long will she be on this mission?" Jenny asks, not sounding pleased.

"I really couldn't tell you. As long as she and the other scientists think they need. Could be a couple of hours, could be a couple of months."

"If you hadn't noticed, Reegar—and I'm sure you did—the geth know you're here."

"Hard to kill what you can't catch, Shepard," Reegar says. "We've been on this planet for two weeks now, and those AI have never managed to attack the main group. We keep on the move, never staying in one place for more than a day. In fact, that's why the three of us are here. We were scouting this building to see if we could use it for a few hours. And thanks to your help, we can."

"So wait, Tali's coming here?" I ask. Man, this mission is going so off-canon I can barely keep track of it all.

"She and the rest of the main team should be here shortly." He pauses for a moment then seems to think of something. "Why don't the five of you stay here and wait for the others to arrive? Meanwhile, we'll scout the rest of the building."

"We just came from that way," Garrus says. "Trust me, it's clear."

"I believe you," Kal says, "but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't check for myself. I'll radio back and let the others know that they have a welcoming party waiting." And with that, he and the other two quarians walk off towards the rest of the building.

Around five minutes later, Garrus calls back to us from his position watching the door.

"Looks like the others are finally—" He's cut off by the sudden appearance of a purple-suited quarian around his waist.

"Garrus! I almost didn't believe it when Kal said you were here!"

"It's nice to see you, too, Tali," the big turian says with obvious amusement.

"We're here, too, you know," Ian says cheekily, walking up to the pair. Jenny and I follow him over while Jack just sort of wanders off.

"Ian!" she says, going to hug him. After also trading hugs with Jenny and me, she steps back to look at all of us. "Keelah, what are you four doing here?"

"Remember on Freedom's Progress when I asked you to join my new team?" Jenny asks. Tali simply nods. "Well I'm here to ask you again."

"Plus there were some geth that needed killing, and we're kind of the professionals at that now," Ian adds, Garrus nodding next to him.

I can see her eyes widen slightly behind the mask before she quickly looks down at the ground. "I...I'm sorry, Shepard, but I can't," she says. "Just like last time, I'm on a mission from the fleet. As much as I'd love to come with you, I can't abandon my mission."

"Well how long till you complete it?" I ask.

"As long as it takes to get the data we need."

"What's the data?" Garrus asks, stepping forward with an expression of concern clearly written over his face.

"As you've probably noticed, Haestrom's sun is aging faster than it should be. The Admiralty Board is concerned that this is some sort of new geth weapon, so we're here to take readings of Dholen's activity. We've collected large amounts of data, but with this constant moving around, there hasn't been much time to analyze it."

"So how do you know when you have enough data?" Jenny asks.

"We don't," Tali says. "That's why it's better to err on the side of caution and collect as much data as possible."

Ian folds his arms, raising an eyebrow. "How long have you been here?" he asks. "I'm assuming this means there's no trends in the data yet."

"We've been here two weeks already. And while we've noticed a few trends, there hasn't been enough time to fully analyze them. So we keep collecting data until it becomes apparent that we're unable to collect more."

"Tali, you know you can't stay ahead of the geth forever," Jenny says. "Eventually you'll run out of places to hide."

"And when that happens, we'll leave," Tali says, more forcefully than I was expecting from her. "But until that time, we continue the mission."

"If the geth catch up with you, you won't be able to send any of that data back at all," Garrus says, sounding just as forceful as Tali. "Two weeks in these conditions is already insanity."

"Garrus, you're my friend, but this isn't up for discussion. I'm leading this team, not you. If you want to stay here and help us, you can, but I won't abandon my team. I'm sorry." There's sort of a stunned silence in the wake of her statement. The four of us trade looks before Jenny finally speaks up.

"Could you excuse us, Tali? I think the four of us need to have a talk."

"Of course, Shepard," Tali says. "I'll be here setting up equipment." With that, we walk off towards the far wall.

"So what do you guys think?" Jenny asks.

"She's not the little sister of the team anymore, that's for sure," Ian replies. "But this is crazy. If they want a good data set, it's going to take at least a couple of months, and if the geth ever get the drop on them, there aren't enough quarians to force them back. And now we've killed a load of geth ourselves, they'll know someone's here. Patrols are only going to get bigger."

"I'm with Ian," I say. "If we hadn't shown up, they _might_ have been able to stay ahead of the geth long enough to get the data they need. But now that we're here, the geth must think that something big is happening. The attacks are only gonna get worse."

"So any suggestions on what we can do?" Jenny asks.

"Nothing I can think of," Garrus says. "She's too damn stubborn about it. I'd be proud if it wasn't going to get them all killed."

"She said that she won't leave until it becomes apparent that they can't stay," I say slowly, an idea forming in my head. "And now that we're here, the geth attacks will only get bigger. Personally, I don't think it'll be too long before the attacks are bigger than they can handle."

"Don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking," Jenny says.

"I think we stay with the quarians and wait for the big attack. When it happens, we help them fight it off while also pointing out that it might be a good time to leave."

"You're joking, right?" Ian asks, looking at Jenny and me like we've grown extra heads. "We just stick around and wait for a few of them to get killed to prove a point? It's a science team. Reegar and the others are their security detail, but at least half of these guys have to be civilians. When that geth attack comes, they're going to be caught right in the middle."

"I don't like it either, Ian, but what choice do we have?" Jenny asks. "If we leave, the geth show up and slaughter them all. That attack is coming no matter what. If we're here with them, we can at least try to keep them safe. And if it gives them the incentive to get off this damn planet, we save more in the long run."

"You do realize we've said absolutely none of this to Tali, right?" he rebukes, looking genuinely annoyed. "Maybe if we mentioned the fact that our presence is going to increase the geth presence instead of continuing like it is now, she could listen. Especially when we point out it's her people on the line. But we can't...we can't put Tali's team in danger and not tell her about it. You can't."

"Then we tell her," I say. "We warn her that our presence will probably increase geth activity and give her an opportunity to leave now. If she says no, then we stay and help while praying that she listens to reason before it's too late."

"No, we don't say 'probably' going to increase geth activity, we say it will. And if she doesn't listen, we make it perfectly clear to her what our plan is," Ian says firmly, glaring exclusively at me now. I bite back a quick retort that would have served no purpose and take a deep breath. Luckily, Jenny speaks up before I can say anything I would regret.

"Ian, you know I would take any other option right now, but there isn't one. So we warn Tali and do our best to keep them all alive."

"You going to warn those scientists too?" Ian snaps. "Tali and Reegar can look after themselves."

"I had assumed Tali would do that herself," Jenny says calmly, "but I'll make sure the scientists know, too. Is there anything else we haven't thought of?"

"Nothing springs to mind," Ian says, glancing at me and Jenny one more time. "I'll see if I can scout around outside, see where they're likely to drop in from." Garrus moves to follow him, but Ian reaches out a hand and places it on the turian's chest, stopping him. "I'm faster by myself, Garrus." With that, he walks off.

"Is he ok, big guy?" I ask after Ian is out of earshot.

"He'll be fine," Garrus says, not sounding as confident as he's trying to be. "Just nervous about the risks. Can't say I blame him."

"Well that's understandable," Jenny says. "I know it's not a great plan, but it's the only one we've got." She pauses and looks around the lobby a bit. "Garrus, get Jack and see what you can do about making this place more defensible. We're gonna need every possible advantage." The turian simply nods and walks off to find the biotic woman.

"Anything you want me to do?" I ask.

"Well this whole thing was your idea, so you're gonna help me explain it to Tali." With that, she walks off, assuming that I'll be right behind her. I am, obviously, and it doesn't take long for us to find our friend. "Tali, we need to talk."

"If you're trying to convince me, Shepard, you already know my answer," Tali says, turning away from whatever she was working on.

"We just thought we'd make you aware of the full situation," I say. She tilts her head to the side, so I'd better explain. "You've been able to outrun the geth for so long because they don't really see you as a threat. Now that we're here, though, that's changed."

"We think it's only a matter of time before the geth launch a major attack," Jenny adds. "I'm urging you to leave now before anyone gets killed."

"I doubt that the geth will see five people as that big a threat," Tali says. "If we leave now, we don't have the data we need, and the mission is a failure. The Admiralty Board—the quarian people—need this information. I'm sorry, Shepard, but we can't leave yet."

"Then we're going to stay with you so that when the attack comes, we can do our best to save everyone." Jenny pauses and looks around the room, watching the scientists set up various pieces of equipment. "Do they even know the danger they're in, Tali?"

"They knew the dangers when they were chosen for this mission," she says quietly. "They wouldn't have come if they weren't prepared."

"Then tell them what the plan is while we try to make this place more defensible," Jenny says. The two women make eye contact for almost thirty seconds before Tali nods and walks away.

Over the next half hour, Jenny, Garrus, Jack, and I work feverishly to rebuild the geth defenses around the door. As far as I know, Ian's still out there scouting. He seemed really angry when he left, and I hope he doesn't do anything rash. At some point, Reegar and his team returned from scouting the rest of the building, so we filled them in on the plan. To his credit, he didn't seem too happy about the situation, but in the end, he sided with Tali. Now he and his team are securing the way we came in before.

I'm working away on the barricade, and Ian appears next to me, almost scaring me to death. "I saw a geth dropship heading this way," he says. "We've got less than five minutes."

And with those words, all hell breaks loose. The scientists begin frantically packing up the equipment they had just finished setting up. Our squad stockpiles thermal clips around the barricade and talks tactics.

"Kal, I need you and your team to scout ahead for a new base," Tali says.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't leave you here if the geth are attacking," he says calmly.

"You're the only one I trust to find a new location. I'll be fine here with Shepard. Please, Kal."

He stays silent for a few moments before nodding. "Aye, ma'am. Keelah Se'lai." He and his team exits through the back, and Tali comes over to help us set up.

"Kael, how long until the equipment is packed up and ready to go?" she asks one of the scientists.

"To do a proper job, about half an hour," he says. "We can cut that down to fifteen minutes if damages to the equipment are not a concern."

"You have ten; now get moving."

The sound of ship engines outside is our only warning that the geth are here. Jenny, Ian, Garrus, Jack, Tali, and I quickly take our places along the barricade while the scientists behind us step up the pace. Looking outside, there are a lot of geth out there: probably twenty or thirty of all types. This doesn't look good…

"Please tell me someone remembered to bring heavy weapons," Garrus says, looking down the line. No one speaks up. "Wonderful… Looks like we do this the old-fashioned way. Tali, it's nice to have you back."

"It'll be just like old times," she says with the barest hint of nerves creeping into her voice.

"Then let's get to it," Jenny says, calmly sending a sniper round into a geth's head. Thus begins a chain reaction of firepower towards the advancing AIs.

"If y'all could refrain from being injured, that'd be great," I say, emptying a clip into a shock trooper getting a little too close for comfort.

"Says the guy who got injured on the last mission," Ian says cheekily.

"Yeah, but if someone gets injured, that puts _two_ people out of the firefight: the one who got shot and me while I treat them." My shields beep at 25%, so I drop down to let them recharge.

"Wait, since when can you treat people?" Tali asks while also taking cover.

"Uh, it was a thing that just kinda happened," I say, standing back up to fight. I notice a faint shimmer off to the flank and start shooting at it. Sure enough, a hunter pops into view, so I finish it off before it can do any real damage. "Spent about the last year and a half on Omega at a clinic. Learned how to patch people up if I needed to."

"Does that include quarians?" she asks after tossing out a tech mine into the steadily advancing geth.

I quickly send an overload at a destroyer before answering. "Never treated many quarians… I guess I could in an emergency, but I don't know the anatomy as well."

Something from outside sails over my head and lands inside the lobby, clattering around on the ground.

An explosion immediately drowns out every other noise in the area. A scene of devastation greets me as I turn around to see what the hell happened. There's a small crater in the floor, and three scientists are on the ground around it, looking to be in varying states.

"I'd say this is an emergency," Tali says. "Go help them!" She doesn't need to tell me twice.

I'm over there before my brain even realizes I moved. All three quarians have suit punctures to one degree or another. For two of them, it looks like a few cuts are the extent of their injuries. The third, however, looks to be in pretty bad shape: his one arm is completely mangled, his chest is riddled with suit punctures, and there are shards buried in his mask. I quickly give some basic instructions to the two who aren't as severely injured and get to work on the third.

I can see that his eyes are open behind the mask, and he's making some incoherent noises, so I know he's still conscious. I kneel next to him and force eye contact, making him focus on me instead of his injuries.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help," I say, slipping into my doctor voice. "What's your name?"

"K-K-Kett'Fennis vas Rayya," he stammers out.

"Alright, Kett, I need you to stay calm and keep still. Has your suit's medical interface kicked in yet?"

"I-I-I th-think so. I can't f-f-feel my arm, but I th-think the suit injected the antibiotics."

I glance down at the arm, and I honestly have no idea what to do with it. Half of the suit-arm has been blown away, and the exposed skin is riddled with deep gashes from the fragmentation. There might not be a way save the arm, especially considering the quarian immune system. Not really knowing what else to do, I coat all the cuts in a healthy amount of medi-gel.

"Alright, that's good," I say, trying to give him some hope. "I need you to lie back and let me and the antibiotics do our jobs. Can you do that for me, Kett?" He weakly nods and lies flat on the ground, staying as still as possible.

For the first time in months, I feel out of my depth. I've never treated a grenade wound before, and I've only ever dealt with like two quarians in my medical career. Having to deal with both is not doing much to boost my confidence.

The various chest wounds really disturb me. There are a lot of suit punctures in very worrying places—places in extremely close proximity to some vital organs. Just to be on the safe side, I check his pulse.

Well that's not good. His heart's nearly beating out of his chest, and he's breathing awfully fast.

"How are you feeling, Kett?"

"I…I don't… I'm not…" He trails off.

"Kett?" No answer. "Kett?!" His eyes are closed. I recheck his pulse—this time at the throat—and it's not there. But his heart's still beating…

Shit…

I'm sorry, Kett. I'm so sorry.

I slowly get up and check on the other two injured scientists. They'll probably be sick for a while, but they'll live.

A sort of steely calm comes over me as I rejoin the defensive line. They're holding, but it looks like there are even more geth out there now. I shoot into the steadily advancing wall of AIs, feeling a sudden strong urge to destroy as many as possible.

"Dylan, what happened?" Tali asks once she notices that I'm back. "Is everyone ok?"

"Kett'Fennis is dead."

The stunned silence that follows is only punctuated by the sounds of battle.

"There was nothing I could do," I add, sending an overload at a sniper in the distance. "The grenade cut an artery near his heart; it was beating, but the blood couldn't get anywhere." I pause and look over at my friend, who seems to be staring off into space. "Starting to reconsider staying?"

"No," she says quietly. "This data could save countless lives, and we can't risk losing that because of an unfortunate death." She pauses for a moment. "But that doesn't mean we have to stay here. Kael! How's the equipment coming?"

"Just a few more minutes, Tali!" the scientist says.

"Kal, have you found a new location yet?" she asks over the radio.

"We've got a possible spot, but we'd like to scout a few more first," he says.

"There's no time. Secure the one you found and we'll be there soon."

My Mattock beeps, and I curse quietly to myself. I'm out of thermal clips! No time to go looking for more now; I simply swap out for my Carnifex. Looking back outside, I'm met by a sight that nearly scares me to death.

"Three primes inbound! Tali, we need to leave _now_," Jenny says.

"Everyone gather what you can and fall back," Tali orders. "Meet at the rear exit."

The primes slowly advance towards our line, and we just don't have the firepower to take them all down. Eventually, it gets to the point where we have to abandon the barricade and fall back with the scientists.

Once the primes and other geth enter the lobby, no one is safe. The six of us do our best to protect the scientists, but it's just too much. By the time everyone's out of the lobby, another four quarians lie dead. The geth keep advancing. Our exit from the building turns into a fighting retreat.

"What are they doing?" Tali asks at one point. "The geth have never followed us like this before."

"I already told you, Tali," Jenny says. "The geth now see us as a threat, and they won't stop until we're gone."

The quarian doesn't reply, and I have to focus on the fighting once again.

Eventually, we manage to make it out of the building, and for once, the geth aren't hot on our heels. One of the scientists has the amazing idea of using a demolition charge to block the exit, and we accept it without hesitation. Now we at least have some breathing room. We take a moment to catch our breath before starting out for the new location.

It's slow going, but with Ian's help, we manage to reach the hideout without any incident.

"It's nice to see you, ma'am," Reegar says, walking up to Tali as we enter the new building.

"We need to leave, Kal," Tali says abruptly. "Shepard's right: It's not safe here anymore."

"I had a feeling you'd say that, ma'am, so I took the liberty of sending Rena and Ari to go get the shuttle. They should be here in a few minutes."

"Same with our shuttle," Jenny says.

For the longest time, Tali just looks back and forth between Reegar and Jenny. "Thank you," she finally says. "Both of you." The she focuses on Reegar. "Kal, make sure everyone gets back safely and that the data gets to the Admirals. The mission is over, so I'm going with Shepard."

"Aye aye, ma'am," he says. "It's been an honor serving with you again. Stay safe out there."

**A/N: And there's Haestrom. A fun chapter to write, but at the same time, I'm glad it's over. I have one quick thing to mention before ending the chapter. I know that there wasn't a letter from Vi this time, but I know that it's hard to remember what happened in a previous letter. To that end, I've put a link on my profile that takes you to a page containing every letter sent between Dylan and Vi. It will be updated as more letters come in. This is the best solution I've been able to come up with, but if anyone thinks of something else I could do, just let me know.**

**Anywho, I suppose that's it for this chapter. Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


	23. Evaluation and Preparation

**Evaluation and Preparation**

"Welcome aboard, Tali," Jenny says, leading the quarian into the meeting room.

"It feels strange," she says, looking around the room. "It's like everything is the same, but different, too."

"Yeah, it felt weird for me at first, too," I say as I walk in behind the women. "You get used to it after a while."

"Miss Zorah, it would seem you've reconsidered the commander's request to join us," Miranda says from one corner of the room. Jeez, I didn't even notice her in here, and you'd think she'd be hard to miss. Tali's eyes narrow as she sees the Cerberus operative.

"Once her mission for the Fleet was completed, Tali was more than happy to join me," Jenny says before Tali can get sassy.

"Even though my own people come first, I'm more than willing to help the humans in their time of need," Tali says with a Look directed at Miranda. Ouch…I think Miranda might need some cold water for that burn. After a moment, the quarian looks back at Jenny. "Actually, I don't recall you mentioning just what's causing that time of need."

"Human colonies are going missing," Jenny says, starting the typical recruitment spiel. I've heard this a few times already—both in this universe and my old one—so I sort of tune it out.

So now that we've got Tali, I think our next move will probably be Illium. There are two recruitments there and Miranda's loyalty mission. Plus getting to see Liara again. I haven't seen or heard from her since Jenny's funeral almost two years ago. I should probably prepare myself for how much she will have changed, but part of me still wants her to be the same innocent young asari from the SR-1. I guess that same sort of thing happened with Tali; I know she's grown so much, but I still kind of see her as a little sister to protect and stand up for.

And now that I think about it, I wonder how loyalty missions will go. I know that you could take whoever you wanted to as the second squad member in the game, but I doubt it'll work like that in real life. I mean, I doubt Miranda would want Jack to be there for her loyalty mission. That might actually make things interesting.

"Dylan, would you mind showing Tali her room?" Jenny asks, pulling me back to the conversation. Then she grins at me. "And engineering, of course."

"Don't mind at all," I say with a smile. "C'mon, Tali. I'm sure Ken and Gabby can't wait to meet you."

"Who are Ken and Gabby?" Tali asks as we leave the conference room. "Are they my roommates?"

"I know it might be a new concept for you, Tali, but you have a room all to yourself." We step into the elevator, and I decide to show Tali her room first. "Ken and Gabby are our engineers. I think Ken handles the propulsion systems and Gabby has the power control systems. Or maybe it's the other way around… Either way, they're good engineers, and I think they'll enjoy having you around."

"But I thought Cerberus hated aliens."

"I think you'll find that this isn't a typical Cerberus crew," I say as the door opens and we exit the lift. "Most of the ones I've talked to are very accepting of the other aliens."

"Then that's…different from my experience with them," she says. "But hopefully you're—"

I open the door to her room, and she just stops. I'm sure if I could see her face, her jaw would be dropped.

"This is my room?" I nod. "And it's all mine?" I nod again. "But…but… I don't share this with anyone else?"

"Not another soul. This spacious 8'x10' is all yours."

"I…I don't know what to say," she says (funnily enough). "I've never had a space this big all to myself before."

"Not gonna get lonely, are you?" I ask with a grin, giving her a nudge in the ribs.

"What? No! I…um, no, no, I'll be, um, fine. I mean, I'm used to sharing a room with Kal and some others, and he probably wouldn't know what to do with all this space, but I think I can manage. Besides, I could always message him if I do get lonely, or, or come talk to you or Ian or Garrus, of course." She stops and takes a deep breath. "I'll be fine. Thank you."

Uh huh…well that was something. I think someone might have a little crush. That's really adorable, actually.

"I'm glad you like it. Do you want some time to make yourself comfortable, or do you want to see engineering?"

"What do _you_ think, Dylan?" she asks, tilting her head at me.

"On to engineering, then," I say with a chuckle.

"So how similar is the new engine to the old Tantalus Drive Core?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, Tali. I haven't really spent any time in engineering. I tend to focus more on the medical side nowadays."

"Yes, you mentioned you worked at a clinic on Omega. What made you think going to Omega was a good idea?"

"You know…stuff happens in your life, and you think a change of scenery would be a good idea."

"But why Omega?" she asks. We step into the elevator again to head up to engineering.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time…" I mutter. "But yes, I went to Omega, got a job at a clinic, and learned how to be a medic. It's a pretty handy skill to have considering our line of work."

"Well I'm glad you did. You saved a few of my people on Haestrom. Thank you."

"Of course, Tali," I say, putting an arm around her shoulder and giving her a little hug. The lift door opens, and I lead her into engineering. We come in behind Ken and Gabby, making the two engineers turn around at sound of the door opening. "Ken, Gabby, I've got someone I'd like you to meet. This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Tali, these are Ken and Gabby."

Ken's eyes widen. "_The_ Tali'Zorah? In our engine room?" Gabby slaps his shoulder.

"Stop it, Ken. You're making this awkward," she says. Then she turns to Tali and smiles. "Hi, Tali. It's so nice to meet you. If even half of the stories about the SR-1 are true, we're gonna love having you."

"Aye, I think I'm loving it already," Ken says. Gabby elbows him in the ribs.

"Um, thank you," Tali says, sounding a little unsure. "So what do you two do down here?"

"I handle the power control systems," Ken says. "And Gabby covers the propulsion systems." Damn, I had it backwards. "Garrus keeps the guns up and running, but he won't let us anywhere near them. He's calibrated them to perfection, so I can't complain, but still."

"You're more than welcome to take the shield controls, Tali," Gabby says, indicating the console. "And if I remember correctly, I believe there's something about you becoming our chief engineer." I can see her eyes light up behind her mask at the news as she walks over to inspect her new station.

"Who manned this station before?" Tali asks, already working away at the controls.

"Gabby and I would take turns," Ken says. "It's not like we've really had a need for our shields yet."

"Well you've done a decent job of it with the resources you have. I've already got some ideas on how to improve the dampening levels of the kinetic barriers…"

"I'll just leave you three to have fun," I say, starting to feel way out of my depth. I turn around and walk out the door, pausing in the little staircase that leads to Jack's hidey-hole. Man, it's been way too long since I spent time in an engine room. I used to know this stuff. Though, even when I _did_ know a little about ship-tech, the kinetic barriers were always out of my league.

I guess that's what happens when you choose to focus on medicine. Two years ago, I could barely deal with a freaking paper cut. Now I'm treating bullet wounds under enemy fire. Quite a difference when you look at it like that.

"The fuck are you doing here?" someone asks behind me. I whip around and come face to face with Jack. Well…technically I have to look down at her—which is weird to think about. It's just like what happened with Miranda. I know how powerful Jack is, but the fact that she's half a foot shorter than me and probably half my weight sort of throws that perception off. Well…almost.

"What?"

"What are you, stupid? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I was just showing Tali where engineering is," I say, suddenly on my toes. Jack is the last person on this ship I want to piss off.

"Then where is the little quarian princess?"

"She's already in there, playing with tech stuff to her heart's content."

"Then you've got no reason to be down here," she says with a glare. I can almost feel the temperature drop a few degrees.

"What about you? Do you have a reason to be down here?" I ask before my brain processes what just came out of my mouth. I might die now…

"You really are stupid, aren't you? I fucking live down here , so unless you want my fist down your throat, you better get the fuck out." Her arms flash blue for a moment.

I raise my hands to placate her. "That won't be necessary. I was just about to leave."

She doesn't say anything as I start backing away towards the door. She does, however, glare at me quite strongly, and my shoulders sag in relief when the door closes between us.

That was…something. Something I never want to repeat again. I get the feeling that Jack and I won't really be talking that much outside of missions. Honestly, I'm pretty ok with that. She's scary.

I think I'm gonna write Vi back then go pass out. The typical post-mission exhaustion is starting to kick in, and it's a wonder I can keep my eyes open. I don't even know what time it is; I just need to sleep.

As I enter my room, I open my omni-tool and open up our conversation history. I know she just sent the last one earlier today, but I can't for the life of me remember what she said in it. Guess I should probably read it again to remind myself what we were talking about.

A few minutes later, I start typing out my response.

_Hey Vi!_

_I'm glad to hear that things are finally calming down around there. God knows I've worried about you enough, despite Ronon and Jesse being there. After a full on turf war, a little "harassment" from some stupid cannon fodder should be a piece of cake._

_I thought you had a stake on the other shoulder, lol. I have two, remember? Plenty of shoulders for the both of you. But seriously, I could tell she needed someone there for her. I can't imagine that feeling, either, but from how she reacted, it's not a good one. I'm still keeping an eye on her, but she didn't seem different on the mission today. _

_Yes, I had a whole week off :P But knowing my luck, that won't happen again anytime soon._

_As much as I would love the sight of you, Jesse, and Ronon gallivanting across the galaxy to save me, it probably wouldn't be the best idea. So I guess I'll tell you as much as I can. _

_So we found the reason for all the human colonies disappearing, and we got a tip about where the next one would be. We went there and interrupted the abduction, and the bad guys didn't like that. So we got in a little fight. Well…a big one, really. There was an incident with some lasers, and I was treating a teammate who got hit by them, and the bad guys came up behind me, and…yeah. _

_Passed out, woke up in a clinic, and felt all better. There was a very nice doctor who patched me up, and I had the next three days to recover. I just got back from another mission, and everything's just fine. _

_I have no idea where we're headed next. Well…technically that's a lie, but I'm not sure when we're getting there or how long we're staying. I hope you enjoy your coming days off. Go see one of the concerts for me. Can't really go to one myself, can I? _

_Anywho, I'm gonna pass out now, lol. Talk to you later!_

_-Dylan_

_P.S. So you know what I just thought of? Why the hell haven't we tried to do a vid call? I mean, this is 2185, for crying out loud. Then we can start planning out this movie about Mordin, lol._

Giving it one last glance, I send the message and lie back on my bed. It takes a while to fall asleep, but eventually I'm out for the night.

####################

I spend the next day just hanging around the ship. Haestrom is out in the middle of nowhere, so it takes a while to even get to a system with a relay. For some reason, I don't really feel like talking to anyone, so I mostly stay in my room and watch Doctor Who. I've spent the past two years catching up on the stuff that's come out since 2011, and I just finished the 200th anniversary special. Lemme just say, I really enjoyed the 13th Doctor, even though I'm still not sure I follow how he got past 12. Something about it being more of a guideline than actual rule, but it was all a little…Moffat-y, if you ask me. Whatever, I still enjoyed it.

On the second day out from Haestrom, I decide to be a little more social. After breakfast, I stick around the mess hall to see who turns up. For a while, no one shows, but after about half an hour, Kelly of all people sits down across from me.

"Good morning, Dylan," she says with a smile.

"Hey, Kelly. Breakfast time?"

"Not really, no. I've been looking for you, actually." Uhh…for some reason, that doesn't sound too good. It's a little ominous to say the least.

"Um, should I be worried?" I ask with a nervous chuckle.

"Not at all. I just think it's about time for us to have a little chat."

"About what?"

"Remember how I'm the ship's psychologist in addition to Shepard's yeoman?" she asks. I nod, not really understanding where she's going with this. "Well you're the only one I haven't given an evaluation to."

Oh…

She must notice my look because she keeps talking. "I know the idea of talking to a psychologist isn't exactly appealing to most people, but it really is for the best. I can't tell if something's wrong unless I know how you normally act."

"I know, I know. I just…don't tend to talk about some of that stuff," I say.

"I'll try to make it as easy for you as possible," she says with a smile. "Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to talk?"

"Unless you have a special place for this, I guess my room would offer the most privacy."

"That sounds like a great idea." She smiles as we both stand up and head for the elevator. A minute later, we enter my room. I sit down on my bed, and she takes the chair at my desk.

"So…how is this gonna work?" I ask after a few moments of silence.

"I'm just going to ask you some basic questions then see where your answers take us," she says, still smiling. I have no clue how she can manage to be so damn chipper all the time.

"Alright. Then ask away, I guess…"

"How was your relationship with your parents?"

Wow, my parents? That's…fuck, I haven't thought about them in way too long. And I never really knew my "parents" in this universe. I guess I'll just talk about my actual parents from back home.

"It was fine," I say. "They provided but never really coddled, encouraged but never pushed…"

"And what about recently?"

I look down at the ground, spacing out a little. "They…died…on Eden Prime. During the geth attack." That's the truth, too. I looked them up after the Normandy crash. Even though I never knew them, I still felt a pang of sorrow when I learned they were dead.

"Is that why you were so eager to join Commander Shepard after the attack?"

"Well, remember that I was the one who got the vision lodged in my brain; I sort of _had_ to come along. But at the same time, I guess I knew I didn't have anything back home anymore."

"Tell me about the people you met onboard the Normandy," she says. "What kind of relationships did you have with them?"

"God…well, um, obviously there's Jenny. I mean, I'm really only on this ship right now because she asked me to be here. She's my commander, and I trust her more than anyone. Kaidan Alenko was kind of like the older brother I never had, and Tali was like a little sister. Ian's still one of my best friends to this day, and despite a small rough patch with Garrus for a while, he's one, too. I don't know what I'd call my relationship with Wrex. I think by the end, it was a sort of mutual respect. Liara and I were friends, but not really that close. And Ashley and I were together before…well, you know what happened."

She makes a few notes on a datapad before speaking again. "So after your time on the Normandy, you ended up on Omega, working on Mordin's clinic. For a former physics major, that's quite a shift in discipline."

"Well, I never actually finished school, and after being on the Normandy, going back to academia just didn't feel right," I say.

"Yes, but why a clinic?"

"I don't know…because I thought I could help people, I guess."

"The way you couldn't help Ashley Williams on Virmire?" she asks barely above a whisper.

I open my mouth to speak, but my mind completely shuts off.

Two years ago, I lost Ash because I didn't know how to help her. I spent eighteen months learning how to help people in that same situation. Have I been trying to make up for her death for almost two years?

"I…I don't…"

"Her death was a traumatic experience for you. To lose someone that close to you will almost certainly have lasting effects. You didn't want to feel that kind of pain again, so you learned the skills to prevent that from happening."

"I thought I had put all that behind me," I mutter. "But it still comes back two years later."

"Considering what happened, I'd say you've done exceptionally well in dealing with it," she says. "Parts of our brain never truly forget some things, and it can manifest in strange ways. You chose to help people so that others wouldn't have to suffer the same anguish you felt. Ashley's death has given life to all the people she inspired you to save." She pauses and gives me a compassionate look. "I know this was supposed to be a simple evaluation; we can save the rest for later if you'd like."

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths before answering. "No. Let's finish what we started."

An hour later, my evaluation wraps up, and up Kelly leaves. A few hours after that, I still haven't left my room. All my desire to be social went away with that little talk. I'm not blaming her, but it's kind of exhausting to dive into my emotions like that. I don't really feel like dealing with people right now. Unfortunately, however, a knock at my door shatters my wish to be left alone.

"Yeah?" I say through the door.

"Dylan? It's Jenny. Can Kasumi and I come in?" she asks. Kasumi? Jenny knocking on my door is rare enough, but adding our resident master thief, too? My curiosity overrules my desire to be a hermit.

"Yeah, sure. Door's open." The two women enter, and at least nothing seems wrong like the last time Jenny knocked on my door. "Take a seat," I say, motioning to the room at large. Jenny sits next to me on the bed while Kasumi takes my chair. "Whatcha need?"

"So remember how I said we were going to Illium?" Jenny asks. I just nod. "Well, we're making a slight detour first."

"Alright…where to?"

"Bekenstein," Kasumi says. Ah…Bekenstein. I guess we're doing Kasumi's loyalty mission. But why are they telling me about it? Usually Shepard and Kasumi do it by themselves. Wait, I technically shouldn't know any of this, so asking a question would be a good idea right about now.

"Any particular reason for that?" I ask, looking back and forth between the two.

"When I agreed to help Shep, she agreed to help me with a…personal matter. There's a man on Bekenstein, Donovan Hock, who took something very close to me, and Shep agreed to help get it back."

"So, what, you're gonna go steal it back?"

"In a way, yes, but this won't be just any old theft," Kasumi says with a slightly mischievous smile under her hood. "Hock is hosting a party for some of his…friends…tomorrow, and you two will be on the guest list."

"Wait…what?" I say, furrowing my brow. "Um, since when was I included in this?"

"Why do you think we're here telling you about it? It's typical for a woman of a certain status to have an escort to parties like this. You'll be playing the role of Shep's escort."

"Why me?"

"You fit the bill," Jenny says, not quite able to meet my eyes. "An escort should be slightly…intimidating. Not quite a bodyguard, but more than just arm candy." Arm candy? That's about the last phrase I would use to describe myself.

"If you need intimidating, why not Zaeed? That guy could intimidate a rock."

"Can you really see Zaeed in a suit?" I take a moment to try and picture that, but my mind rebels against the thought. "Yeah, didn't think so. Besides, he's rather well known in that circle. And seeing as Bekenstein is a human colony, an alien would likely stand out."

"So what about Jacob? He's built like some kind of Greek god," I say. Kasumi sighs wistfully, but I pretend to not notice it. I know about her…feelings towards Jacob.

"I don't think Jacob has the right…demeanor," Jenny says.

"Ian's an infiltration specialist." I think back on all the things he learned on Omega. "Why not him?"

"He doesn't quite have the right build—a little too slim. And besides, he spent more time killing mercs on Omega than socializing with them."

"So I'm basically the last resort," I say with a chuckle.

"No! No, you were, um, actually my first pick when Kasumi said I needed an escort," Jenny says. Really? I was?

"I can't imagine why, but alright. I'll come along and help. What do I need to do to get ready?"

"Nothing," Kasumi says. "Just be ready to go first thing tomorrow. Oh, and I hope you like dressing up."

Fantastic…

**A/N: Hey there folks. So I know it's been a while, and I also know that this is a shorter chapter than I've been putting out recently. But truth be told, I couldn't think of anything else to add that wouldn't feel like I was just padding it out. **

**On another note, I head back to school in less than a month. I'm gonna try my hardest to get the next chapter out before then, but no promises. **

**Anywho, that's about it for this chapter. Till next time, folks, ta ta!**


	24. The Heist

**The Heist**

"Should I be worried about how you knew my measurements?" I ask Kasumi as I try on the suit she got me to wear. Well…I say "suit" but it's more of a fancy unbalanced jacket and nice pants. Personally, I would have preferred an actual suit, but apparently formalwear has moved on since the 21st century. At least the thing's comfortable, and it fits like a glove. Hence my question to the little thief…

"That depends on your point of view, I guess," she says with a slightly mischievous smile. I could interpret that so many ways, but I don't think it's worth getting worked up over. The thing fits, that's all I care about. "Do you have your armor's undersuit on beneath that?"

"Yeah, I do, but I still don't know why I need it. I thought this was gonna be an undercover mission."

"The first part will be, but phase two might get a little…louder. It's good to prepare for any possibility."

"So how are we gonna get our armor into this dude's mansion without his security noticing?" I ask.

"I'll explain everything in the car," she says, still smiling. "Until then, just trust me that everything's been taken care of."

"Alright, alright, I trust you." I mean, I know what's going to happen, so of course I trust her. But, I've gotta keep up appearances. "So what's next, oh master thief?"

"We've got an aircar waiting in the shuttle bay. I still need to check on Shep, so you can just wait for us there."

"Alright, go do what you've gotta do," I say. "I'll be ready." The petite Asian nods and walks out.

Man, even after thinking about it all last night, I still can't believe that I'm going on this mission. I always liked Kasumi's loyalty mission in the game, but it was always a two-person job. I have no idea how my presence will change things—if it will at all. I'll just go with the flow and see what happens. With a final check in the mirror, I head out to wait for the girls in the shuttle bay.

"Well, I guess even you can't pull off that stupid getup," a British voice says behind me. I turn around to see Ian grinning at me. "I'm not even sure Garrus could pull it off."

"I think if Garrus were wearing it, you'd be the one pulling it off," I say without a second thought.

He laughs. "Probably, yeah. So how on Earth did you land a spot on Kasumi's mission? That seems more up my alley."

"Not a clue, bud. Apparently you're not big enough to look the part."

"I'm really not that small," he says with only a hint of resentment. "I don't know why people always call me little."

"You're not little," I say, putting an arm around his shoulder. "You're lithe. This mission just needs a different touch."

"Right. Well I've got my own ideas about why you're going along, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Enjoy your mission-date-thing." And with that he walks away before I can say anything.

Well that was…interesting. And I don't care what he says. This outfit may not look the best, but I can totally rock it. I smile to myself before walking down the hallway into the shuttle bay. The brand new luxury aircar sitting in the middle of the room stands out just a little bit—especially compared to the Kodiak. No one's around for me to talk to, so I guess I'll just stand around and wait.

About ten minutes later, I hear the elevator door open. Kasumi walks into view a moment later then stops and looks back at the lift.

"You coming, Shep?" she asks.

"Is Dylan out there?" Jenny asks. Huh? Why is she asking that? Kasumi looks over at me with the biggest grin plastered on her face. She nods at me, as if she wants me to answer.

"He has been for ten minutes," I say, feeling slightly amused.

"Now come on. We're almost late for the party," Kasumi says. I hear a sigh, quickly followed by the clicking of heels on a metal floor. She got Jenny into heels? Now that's something I never thought I'd see. Though when she rounds the corner, it turns out the heels are the just the tip of the iceberg.

Wow…

It's the same dress that all female Shepards get for Kasumi's mission: a black cocktail dress reaching just above the knee with a high collar yet exposed neckline. Though while playing the game, I never realized how…exposed, um… No! Bad Dylan! She's your commander and your friend! You can't try to sneak a peek.

I avert my eyes and focus on her face. Unfortunately, that brings surprises of its own. First off, it's a lot closer to mine than it usually is. She must be wearing four inch heels at least. And secondly, she's actually wearing noticeable makeup: smoky eyeshadow with gold accent that makes her eyes really stand out, a very light blush, and light pink lipstick.

Our eyes meet, and we both quickly look away.

"Wow, um, you look really good, Jenny," I say, feeling the need to say _something_. I unconsciously start biting my lip.

"You do, too, Dyl," she says. "I mean Dylan! Dylan…"

Kasumi clears her throat, and I've never been so thankful for a distraction. We both look over at the small thief.

"If you two are ready, we should get going," she says. "I'll explain the plan in the car." I've never agreed to anything so fast in my life. We get in the car—Kasumi and Jenny in front, me in back—and exit the Normandy.

"So are you ready for a pleasant social gathering, Ms. Allison Gunn?" Kasumi asks after we've been flying for a few minutes.

"I'm guessing that's my cover," Jenny says.

"You run a small but very skilled band of mercs out in the Terminus called the Black Hand. Exactly the kind of person Hock respects. I took the liberty of giving you a reputation. Papers, witnesses, and even an article in Badass Weekly."

"Think I could get a copy of that article?" I ask, poking my head up front.

"If this heist is a success, it's all yours," she says.

"So what about Dylan's cover?" Jenny asks, bringing us back on topic.

"He's one of your top lieutenants, Damian Weber. Unfortunately, Dyl, you don't have a Badass Weekly article; however, you do get a mention in Allison Gunn's."

"I'll take what I can get," I say. "So what's the actual plan?"

"Hock's throwing this party for a few dozen of his closest friends—all some of the worst liars, cheats, and murderers around. And they're all bringing gifts to honor the man himself. Our little tribute is a wonderful statue of your old friend Saren, created with exquisite detail and filled to the brim with our weapons and armor. You can keep your pistol, though. They won't hassle you over a sidearm as long as it's concealed.

"Hopefully, you won't even need your armor. Once we find the vault entrance and you two help me peel away the layers of security, I'll go in while you two stay at the party. We don't want people wondering where you ran off to, do we?"

So wait, we're not going in the vault with Kasumi? That could be…dangerous. If things play out like they do in the game, she's gonna be in some pretty big trouble. But I guess she is the master thief. And at least we'll have our armor just in case.

"What happens if you run into trouble in the vault?" Jenny asks, voicing my own thoughts.

Kasumi smiles a little. "Please, Shep, remember who you're talking to. But if worse comes to worst, that's what the armor is for."

"So what are we supposed to do while you go in the vault?" I ask. "Just mingle?"

"Pretty much. Try not to draw attention, but also keep up appearances. I'm sure you two can figure it out."

"Anything else we should know?" Jenny asks.

"Once we get there, you two will have to do all the talking," Kasumi says. "It'd be best if Hock didn't know I was there, so I'll cloak as soon as we land. Don't worry, though, I'll keep in touch."

The car falls silent, and I spend the last portion of the drive to commit my cover to memory. Damian Weber. Not a bad name all things considered. Lieutenant for the Black Hand. That's really all the info I got. I guess that means I can basically fill in the rest on my own. Hopefully I learned a few things on Omega about being a merc.

About ten minutes later, we land at Hock's rather lavish estate. Kasumi shimmers out of sight, and I hurry out of the car to open Jenny's door for her. I'm supposed to be an escort after all. As Jenny gets out, I take a look around the compound. I catch my first glimpse of the Saren statue over by the door, and it looks like some Eclipse merc is checking it out. Jenny and I walk over to the entrance, but the merc stops us.

"Just a moment, ma'am," he says, scanning the statue with his omni-tool. "There seems to be a problem with your statue."

"Is there a problem here?" Holy crap, his accent really is that bad. Jenny and I look at the door to find Donovan Hock himself walking down the steps.

"No, Mr. Hock. Just doing a scan." Our host narrows his eyes at the merc before turning to face us.

"I don't believe we've met," he says, folding his arms behind his back. "Donovan Hock."

"Allison Gunn," Jenny says with a slight nod of recognition. "Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Hock."

"As does yours. You two have been quite busy lately if the extranet is to be believed."

"Why walk when you can run, Mr. Hock? I've lived by those words my whole life, and the evidence of their success should be plain to see."

"Sir, the scanners aren't picking anything up," the merc says before Hock can answer. He walks up to inspect the statue, giving me a moment to stare at the back of Jenny's head. She must really be getting into her role. I can't imagine Jenny ever saying something like that.

"I don't think our guests would come all the way from Illium just to cause trouble," Hock says after a moment's inspection. He turns back to us. "You may pass through, Ms. Gunn, Mr. Weber. Enjoy the party." And with that, he turns around and walks back inside.

Jenny and I take a moment to stand outside and admire the lavish house. Say what you will about Hock, at least he has wonderful taste in architecture.

"Are you ready to join the rest of the party, Mr. Weber?" Jenny asks, looking back at me.

"After you, Ms. Gunn," I say with a small smile.

We ascend the stairs and catch our first glimpse of the interior of his little mansion. Well, I say "little," but unless your definition of that word is anything smaller than a few thousand square feet, it's anything but. Works of art cover just about every wall, and the occasional statue or vase graces a corner.

"So what's the plan for this, Kasumi?" Jenny asks.

"The vault entrance should be near the back of main hall," the thief says. "Start making your way back there, but remember to mingle. Blend into the crowd, don't stand out. And have fun; it _is_ a party after all." I grimace to myself a little. Small talk at parties was never my favorite, and I don't think it'll be any better when the partygoers are basically just mercs.

We spend the next few minutes floating from conversation to conversation, occasionally participating, but usually staying silent. The topic usually centers around some sort of illicit activity, and if I were recording all this, I could make a fortune from tipping off various authorities. Towards the back of the rather opulent grand hall, we stop at a conversation that piques both of our interests.

"Personally, I'm just glad that Archangel and Deadpool are gone for good," some random turian says to a group of asari and humans. "It was impossible to conduct business on Omega with them active."

"You know, you'll never hear this from the big three, but it was a Black Hand infiltration team that eventually took them out," Jenny says, casually entering the conversation.

"Really? I can't say I've ever heard of the Black Hand."

"What my team lacks in numbers, we more than make up for in skill. Damian here was even the one to put the bullet between Archangel's eyes." Her boast catches me by surprise, but I manage to keep my face blank as I look at the assembled group. As my gaze falls on one of the asari, our eyes lock, and some look I can't place crosses her face.

"If you delivered the deathblow personally, why were the bodies never found?" the turian asks me.

"The damn Suns blew the building before I could get a full confirmation," I say, dropping my voice into the lower registers and making it sound slightly rough. "But he's dead alright."

"If what you say is true, then it deserves respect," one of the humans says. "Those two were a thorn in my side for almost two years. If your organization is capable of feats like that, I may be interested in your services."

"Get in touch, and we can work out a deal," Jenny says with a sly smile. "But now if you'll excuse us, we need to move on. People to see and all that." She departs from the group, and I give them a small nod before following her.

"You sure do have Allison's personality down pat, don't you?" I whisper as we keep moving towards the back of the room.

"Acted all through high school," she answers. "Allison's just another role. And how about you, Damian?"

"I'm just treating everyone here like I treated the mercs at the clinic back on Omega. Got a lot of practice over a year and a half."

"Then this should be pretty easy for us. Especially because I just found the entrance to the vault."

"I told you two to mingle, not dawdle," Kasumi says with a grin as we approach. "While you two dilly-dallied, I've cased out the security systems: a voice print passcode, DNA identification, and a good old fashioned kinetic barrier."

"So can you break through it?" Jenny asks. Kasumi just gives her a look.

"If I couldn't, I wouldn't be much of a master thief, would I? We can sweep his quarters for DNA samples, and all we need to do is get him talking for a while for a voice print. The passcode should be in the security hub, and the barrier is as simple as unplugging its power source."

"What do you need us to do?" I ask.

"I can get the passcode and shut off the barrier easily enough by myself," she says after a moment's thought. "I need one of you to get him talking so I can get a voice sample. And it would probably be faster for you two to get into his personal quarters."

"I'm, uh, not really sure I follow your logic on that."

"We'll do the voice print first then split up to save time. It'd be easier for you two to sneak into his quarters than the main security hub."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Jenny asks. The little thief smiles.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. So which one of you wants to chat up the man himself?"

Jenny and I look at each other. "You're the one with the reputation," I say. "I'm just the goon. If you talk to him, I'll start looking for a way into his quarters."

"That sounds good," she says. "I'll radio you when I'm done."

"Then let's get to it," Kasumi says. We nod and make our way out of the vault entrance area. Once we make it back up to the main floor, Jenny and I split up.

So how can I find a way into Hock's personal quarters? I remember in the game that there was some way to trick the guard on the door, but I can't for the life of me recall what it was. And the other option was shooting your way to the balcony or something, and that just won't do. Maybe I can somehow get him away from the door? And that's assuming it's still just a single guy at the door. Maybe I should check that out before I plan ahead any more.

If I remember the game correctly, his quarters should be off to the side of the main hall. I navigate my way through the crowd of people, and almost no one gives me a second glance. Compared to Allison Gunn, I'm just a nobody.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally find what must be Hock's quarters. Just like the game, it only has one guard on the entrance, so the best plan would probably be to get him to leave his post. But how… Maybe Kasumi or Jenny could fake an emergency call to his omni-tool. Or we could try to convince him that we have access back there. And I guess if it comes right down to it, we could just knock him out or something.

"Damian, do you copy?" Jenny says over the radio. Apparently we're staying in character…

"Go ahead, Ms. Gunn."

"Where'd you run off to?"

"About half way up the main hall on the east side."

"Well stay where you are," she says. "I'm coming to find you." Alright, it sounds like they got the voice thing they needed.

A few minutes later, I feel a hand on my lower back and turn to find Jenny standing next to me.

"So what's it look like?" she asks.

"Well, I'm almost positive that this is his door, and from what I can see, there's only the one guard," I say. "If we could get him to leave his post for a few moments, we could just walk right in."

"Any ideas how to do that?"

"I was thinking a fake emergency call to his omni-tool, if that's possible."

She puts her finger on her nose and thinks about it for a moment. "I do have access to their comm. channel, but without knowing who this guard is, I can't specifically send it to him."

"Wait, when did you get their comm. channel?" I ask, eyes widening a little bit.

She looks down. "Well…technically _I'm_ not the one who got access…Kasumi gave it to me. But like I was saying, I can only send out a blanket message to all the mercs."

"So it's gotta be something pretty big. Any ideas?"

"I think I've got something," she says with a mischievous smile. She opens up her omni-tool and starts speaking into it. "Alert, alert. We have a level three perimeter breach on the southwest corner. All personnel report to the south wall immediately."

In seconds, the guard quietly hauls ass away from the door, leaving it totally unguarded. Holy crap, I can't believe that actually worked.

Once he's out of sight and the coast is clear, Jenny and I slip through the door. We find a staircase leading up on the other side and creep upstairs. I'm not sure if there were any guards back here, but if there were, they'd need to come this way to respond to that fake call. Maybe we didn't think that part through enough… But I guess it's too late now.

Luckily, though, we manage to find Hock's room without any troubles.

"Alright, so we're looking for anything that might have Hock's DNA," Jenny says, looking around the room. "Skin flakes, saliva, hair, anything."

"Then I guess we better get to work," I say. She nods, and we split up to cover the room.

Honestly, I can't remember where the sample came from in the game. And this mission's already different enough that I wouldn't trust the game anyway. We spend the next five minutes scouring every surface we can find. I managed to get some skin from an antique sword on the wall, but that's about it.

We meet up in the middle of the room and move over towards the bed to see if there's any DNA there. Though…now that I think about it, I really hope there isn't…

"Nothing. The maids probably wash these five times a day," Jenny says. I breathe a huge internal sigh of relief.

I can't think about that any further, though, as the door whooshes open. Before I know what's going on, Jenny pulls me down to the bed and presses her lips to mine. My eyes widen in shock, and I start struggling until Jenny essentially pins me to the bed with her body. I'm almost painfully aware of her pressing into me, and I can even feel the heat from her body.

After a moment, I relax and close my eyes. My lips start acting without conscious thought, and I'm aware of my hands starting to caress her back. One hand reaches up to the zi—

"What the fuck are you two doing in here?"

And just like that, I snap out of whatever trance-like state I was in. Jenny rolls off me and gives the merc who just entered the room one of the coldest glares I've ever seen.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Jenny says.

"Mr. Hock's quarters are part of my patrol," the merc says.

"Then you should have known that Donovan graciously gave me and my lover access to his private room for some personal time." My face feels like it catches fire as I blush harder than I've ever blushed before. "And now the mood is ruined thanks to you. I can only imagine what Donovan will do to you when he finds out about this."

The merc's eyes widen. "No, ma'am! My apologies, ma'am. We recently had an incident, and I didn't have time to update my patrol route. I'm incredibly sorry, ma'am. Just don't tell Mr. Hock, and I won't disturb you again."

"You're lucky I was in a happy mood before you walked in and ruined it. Now get out of my sight and never speak of this again."

If the merc had a tail, it would be between his legs as he runs out of the room. Jenny stands up and smoothes her dress.

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned," she says, looking back at me. I still haven't moved from the bed.

"Say what now?" I ask as I, too, stand up. I quickly make sure my clothes are in order.

…

Why is my zipper down? I don't remember that happening… I quickly zip it back up before Jenny notices.

"The fake out make out. Normally people see that and leave out of discomfort. That guy stuck around for some reason." She pauses and tilts her head at me. "You didn't think it was a real kiss, did you?"

My brow furrows. "What? No, of course not."

"Alright…" she says slowly. "Then let's keep searching for that DNA sample. Don't want to keep Kasumi waiting, do we?"

It takes another five minutes to get what we need—a saliva sample from some leftover wine glasses. With our goal in hand, we sneak back out of Hock's quarters. Luckily, the door guard hasn't returned yet, so we slip back into the party with none the wiser.

"Well finally," Kasumi says as we enter the vault entrance. "I was starting to think something happened. Well, besides a level three perimeter breach." She grins at Jenny.

"We had to get the guard away from the door," Jenny says. "That was the best we could come up with."

"Oh, I'm not complaining. It got all but one merc out of the security hub, so it was child's play to get the password. And cutting the barrier was as easy as expected."

"Well I'm glad you had such an easy time," I mutter before sticking my tongue out at her.

"So are you all ready to go in the vault?" Jenny asks.

"I sure am," Kasumi says. "You two go rejoin the party. You've been away for a while."

"Good luck down there, Kasumi."

The little thief grins. "I'd say you need it more than I do." And with that, she shimmers out of sight. Jenny and I just shrug at each other before heading back to the main hall.

We mingle for a while, floating from group to group like we did earlier in the party. I never really get involved in the conversation, but I need to be there as part of my cover.

After about ten minutes of mingling—with no word from Kasumi yet—I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see a scruffy looking human male standing there. When he sees my face, he scowls, and before I have a chance to react, his fist hits me square on the cheekbone.

I stagger back and quickly shake the stars from my eyes.

"Where's your little bitch of a nurse girlfriend?" he yells as Jenny quickly gets between him and me. "Maybe with you not around, my boys can finally have some fun with her."

My head whips up so I can look him in the eye. I can see it now. It's that merc from the clinic way back when—the one who came in with a broken arm and Vi refused to treat him.

"What the fuck did you say about her?" I yell back, taking a few steps closer to him. Luckily for the asshat, Jenny stops me from getting too close.

"Just saying that your little bitch is all alone on Omega. Lots of stuff can happen with no one to protect her."

My mind goes blank. I push Jenny out of the way and bash the merc on his temple. I don't give him time to recover as he staggers back; I close the distance between us and grab him by the throat, pushing him against a wall.

"Listen here, you little shit," I whisper. "Stay away from her. If I find out you did _anything_ to hurt her, I will end you."

The merc sneers. "Listen to you, tough guy. I'm gonna have fun carving my name into your girlfriend's—"

Whatever he was about to say gets cut off as my fist impacts jaw. Then his nose. Then his temple.

When Jenny finally pulls me away from him, he collapses to the floor, unconscious. Surprisingly—though it probably shouldn't be—the other party guests return to their conversations like nothing happened. A few guards hurry over and take the limp body away. Good riddance if you ask me. Jenny drags me over to a quiet corner of the hall.

"Mind telling me what the hell that was?" she asks.

"I've run into that guy before on Omega," I say. "He threatened Violet, and the last people that tried to hurt her ended up dead. Besides, he punched me first."

She glares at me before answering. "Fine. Let's just get back to the party."

Only a few minutes later, we get a call from Kasumi over the radio.

"I've got the greybox and just made it back out of the vault," she says. "I'm ready to go whenever you two are."

Wait, she's done? And there was no fighting? Just in and out like that?

"We're ready, too," Jenny says. "Though our weapons and armor are still in the statue. Any idea how we'll get those back?"

"I'll take care of that. I'll meet you at the car."

A few minutes later, Jenny and I reach the car. We sit in a silence that's barely not awkward and wait for our master thief to return.

"For a first heist, you two did pretty well," the empty air next to us says. "In and out with none the wiser."

"Then it looks like that article is all mine," I say with a smile.

It feels good for things to go right for once.

**A/N: Hooray! I managed to get this chapter out before leaving for school! And damn, what a chapter it was. I had lots of fun writing this sucker.**

**So yeah, I'm headed off to start my sophomore year tomorrow, which means it's gonna be a hectic few weeks coming up. Hopefully, though, things should settle down enough by September for me to get my monthly chapter out. So fingers crossed.**

**Anywho, I think that's it for this chapter. Until next time, folks, ta ta!**


End file.
